RWBY AU: M32 - Volume 3
by Rocketiermaster
Summary: WARNING! SPOILERS FOR RWBY! WATCH THAT FIRST! Credit is given in the Authors note. As I've said before, bear with me as my writing will get better.
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

I wrote Volumes 1-5 before starting to post, so my upload rate is whenever I felt like actually spending an hour or two to upload a volume. Also, the following characters were created by me; all others are owned by RoosterTeeth Animation:

Rocket

Trent

Herman

Dracor

Ridge


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

POV: Rocket

The Vytal tournament is a huge event. It consists of multiple teams from each school, all battling in a tournament that is shown around the world. The rules are slightly different than a normal tournament to liven things up. In every round, the teams left are randomized to decide the next fighters. But that isn't the weird part. The special part comes in with the numbers of fighters. There is 1 qualifier round, where all 4 team members fight. In the next round, only 2 members fight. Then, it moves to normal bracket style, where only 1 member of the surviving teams can fight, with only 1 champion as the outcome. The arena is randomized with what the terrain is, until the 1v1 rounds, where they only have Because of the "special circumstances" around team RRWBY, we decided that we would fight as team RWBY, and I would be alone. If you think about it, that means things will only get easier as I move on, since the number of opponents I'll be facing will decrease with every round.

This first round that I was watching, was team RWBY, vs team ABRN. Team ABRN was composed of one person on a hoverboard, one person who had a string as a weapon, one person who used a massive sword, and another who used a simple bo staff. They made the mistake of doing things in the ice realm, where Weiss reigns supreme. 2 of their members were picked up in a fist made of ice. That fist then was rolled into a third member, who could barely stop it. As a finisher, those 3 remaining members (Their leader had been tricked by Blake and knocked out) were punch off the stage by Yang, after she skated into them, going pretty dang fast after a little help from Weiss and Blake.

After their match, we were walking through the fair grounds, when Ruby's stomach growled.

Ruby: Is anyone else hungry?

Yang: Oh, yeah!

Blake: I may have worked up a bit of an appetite…

And that was when a deep rumble shook the ground.

Weiss: If only there was a place where we could get some food? Oh, wait.

There were quite a few booths in the fairgrounds to get some food.

Ruby: It's okay, Wiess. I forget the fairground exist too, sometimes.

Weiss: I was being facetious!

Ruby: Well, if you were hungry, why didn't you just say so?!

Rocket: How did you eve-

Yang: Come on, guys! I know just the place!

Yang led the group to the "Simple Wok" noodle stand. We sat down, and the shopkeeper walked out and asked for our order.

Yang: I'll just have the regular.

Immediately, a giant bowl of noodles flew from somewhere near the kitchen doors. It happened even too fast for my time manipulation to see.

Ruby: Oo, that looks good… I'll take the same!

A similar bowl of noodles crashed to a halt in front of her.

Weiss: Do you have anything low in sodium?

She had barely finished her sentence, before she received a bowl just like everyone else. I was about to order, when I realized something.

Rocket: I… don't have any money…

Weiss: Don't worry, I'll pay for the entire team.

Rocket: Oh, thank you.

I looked at the pattern, and gave up figuring out how to get a different result.

Rocket: I think I know what you're going to give me anyway-

A bowl was thrown to me, almost over the edge of the counter, full of noodles. Blake was last. She simply nodded, and he went into the back for a second. When he came out, he put a bowl of fish in front of her. She was already drooling. Weiss handed the man her card.

Ruby: So, Weiss, what's the occasion?

Weiss: It's ju-

The card came back like shuriken, and stuck into the table next to Weiss. She looked up, and saw the man just pointing to the cash register. The card had been declined.

Weiss: But I've barely dipped into my monthly allowance…

The man quickly took back all of the food. Like, seriously. He was moving at mach 3 comfortably. Blake groaned and put her head on the table.

Pyrrha: Maybe I can help.

Team JNPR snuck up on us without me noticing again, probably due to Blake's groaning.

Ruby: Oh, Pyrrha! You don't have t-

Blake: But she can!

We all got our food back, and began talking while eating.

Ruby: So, aren't you all fighting next? What are you doing here?

Pyrrha: We decided we needed a little pre-battle snack.

When we finally pushed our empty bowls away from us, Jaune and Ren looked almost ready to puke. Pyrrha looked only slightly uncomfortable, and Nora somehow looked hungrier.

Ren: Are you sure it's wise to eat so much before a fight?

Pyrrha: It will give us energy!

Jaune: If I puke, I'm blaming you.

Nora: Oh! We can all aim it at the enemy!

Ren: Nora, that's disgusting! But, I guess if you feel the urge…

Jaune: Got it.

Ruby: So, do you think you all are ready?

Nora: Well, I can bench 5 of me, Ren is basically ninja, Pyrrha is untouchable, and… Jaune! We've trained all year, our weapons are awesome and… Jaune!

Rocket: Are you just going to take that?

Jaune: She's not wrong…

Nora: Oh come on! Lighten up! The worst that could happen is we lose, then we have to walk around school for 3 more years with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit next to us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, so no home to return to, and we'll officially be renamed team LOSE-iper-

Ren: So, yeah. We're feeling pretty good.

Rocket: Nice pep talk.

Suddenly the intercom turned on.

Oobleck: Can JNPR please report to the arena, like they were supposed to do 10 MINUTES AGO? Thank you.

Pyrrha: Well, we should probably go.

The entire team was almost too full, with Jaune looking a bit sick. This was going to be an interesting match. It was JNPR vs. BRNZ. We want to watch. When we arrived, both teams were already in the arena, getting ready to fight. The arena randomizer began.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

POV: Rocket

BRNZ had a pretty wide range of weapons. Two of them had close melee weapons, with an electric baton and a blade mounted over his knuckles while another had close ranged, in the form of wrist mounted razor blades, that could be launched. The last member had a sniper rifle.

The arena that was randomly chosen, was half mountains, and half forest, with the forest being behind BRNZ. As soon as the countdown hit zero, May, the sniper, sprinted back into the trees. Everyone else ran into the middle. They started almost one on one, with Pyrrha fighting Roy, the razor-blade user, Nora fighting Nolan, the baton user, and Jaune taking on Brawnz, the claw user. Ren was about to join in on the fight, when a sniper bullet went right by his head. Apparently May isn't the best at actually hitting things. Of course, that meant he had to run away or he would probably be hit. Jaune seemed to be trying to think of a plan that didn't involve just doing random 1v1s. But he couldn't really think of anything. In a different battle, Nora overswung and left herself open. Nolan took that opportunity to jab her with his baton, electrocuting her. She wasn't really being effected, and Nolan seemed confused.

Port: And there's Nora's semblance kicking in. She is able to absorb electricity and use it as energy!

Nolan swallowed, and realized Nora was smiling as he was electrocuting her. She hit him, launching him into the forest. Jaune noticed a storm generating at the top of the mountain. He got his inspiration.

Jaune: Nora! Climb the mountain.

Nora: Ok!

Nora was a blur as she began to move up the mountain.

Pyrrha: What about the sniper?

Jaune: Ren, keep her busy.

Ren: Oka-

Another bullet went straight in front of him. He sighed, and then kept running. Jaune resumed fighting Brawnz. Nora was almost up the mountain, when May finally noticed her.

Jaune: Pyrrha!

Pyrrha ran over to Jaune, and he used his shield to launch her into the air. Pyrrha was launched into the perfect position to block the bullet with her shield. Of course, Jaune was then left alone with Brawnz and Roy. They advanced on him. Jaune got ready, and then… Pyrrha, landed on Roy, knocking him to the ground. Brawnz, who was surprised by the sudden interference, was left open to Jaune crashing into him with his shield.

May was aiming her sniper rifle at Nora, when she realized something. Nora was aiming something else at her. Nora's grenade launcher had opened up, and she launched all of the grenades at once. They flew at May in a heart shape. Just before they landed, May jumped out of the tree, which was blown up immediately after. In fact, most of the forest in the middle was blown up when Nora launched the grenades. May only left the explosion lightly blackened and exhausted. Both teams regrouped. BRNZ was all tired, and on the brink of collapsing.

Jaune: Ok! Let's finish them off with team attacks! Flower power, go!

His team was silent, and still.

Jaune: Um, I said FLOWER POWER…

Team JNPR was still silent.

Jaune: Oh come on!

Nora: Why do you keep saying flower power?

Jaune: It's your team attack with Ren! Ren brings the flower, and you bring the power!

Ren: How do I bring a flower?

Nora: No, silly! You bring flour, like for baking!

Team BRNZ just seemed confused.

Jaune: You know what? Screw it. Just hit em with your hammer or something…

Nora took that command very happily. BRNZ did not.

Brawnz: Wait, what?!

Nora almost teleported over to them, because of how fast she was moving. I stopped time to see if I could predict the effects, and I noticed her hammer was aimed right for… well… a very painful area for Nolan. I resumed time. JNPR vs BRNZ ended with Nora getting a quad-elimination by both aura-breaking, and knocking them out of the arena. She had actually also knocked one of them unconcious. I assume Nolan, from pain.

POV: Omniscient

Ozpin was sitting in his office, when he got a call. It was from the Counsel of Remnant.

Ozpin: Hello?

Counselman: Ozpin, we need to talk. Ever since that little… incident with the breach, we've been think about something. We've decided that you are no longer viable to protect the people attending the Vytal festival. That is why we are assigning James Ironwood to the head of security while the festival lasts.

Ironwood: Thank you. Ozpin, this is the best choice from Vale. Trust me.

Ozpin looked out his window, and saw that Ironwood had already moved most of his fleet into a guarding position around the city.

Counselman: After the Vytal festival, we will have to have a serious talk about your position as headmaster, Ozpin.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

POV: Rocket

Team RWBY and I were walking around the fairgrounds again, when we ran into a girl that had become one of Ruby's friends, named Emerald. She had bright green hair, and red eyes. Ruby didn't notice her, until she coughed. She had Ruby's wallet in her hand.

Emerald: I think you left this…

Ruby quickly checked all of her pockets, and realized that was her wallet.

Ruby: Oh, uh… thank you… girl pockets suck.

Ruby took the wallet and put it in her pocket.

Emerald: Nice job on the fight today!

Ruby: Thanks! Your's is up next, right?

Emerald: Yah, we think we've got this in the bag.

Ruby: Ah… Where even is your team? I don't think I've seen them yet.

Emerald: Well, that because… well…

She glanced over her shoulder. Mercury, her teammate with gray hair, was smelling a boot.

Emerald: They're really socially awkward…

Ruby: Ah…

Emerald: So, who are you sending into the next round?

Ruby: As leader I decided-

Weiss: We put it to a vote

Ruby: But I chose to put it to a vote. Anyways, we decided Weiss and Yang would move on.

Emerald: That's nice. I think it's time for us to go. Our match is in about 30 minutes, and we need to prepare. Come on, Mercury!

And with that, they walked away. Something didn't seem right while Emerald has been here. We've only really seen Mercury and Emerald, with Mercury being "too socially awkward to talk". Yah, I don't buy that. Mercury was smelling a boot, which is normally just done to check the quality. Not exactly socially debilitating. He seemed to be nice and chatty in the practice match against Pyrrha. It was also suspicious that he didn't even try in that practice match. He forfeited after only about a minute.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

POV: Omniscient

Emerald and Mercury were walking away from their encounter with team RRWBY.

Mercury: So, how are your new "friends"?

Emerald: I hate all of them. It's just… How can they be so HAPPY ALL THE TIME?

Mercury: Oh, don't worry, we won't have to deal with them for much longer. Did you get the info we needed?

Emerald: The heiress and the blondie.

There wasn't really much else to say from the two accomplices. They walked to the arena, and got ready to fight a fight they already knew they would win.

POV: Rocket

We walked back to our rooms. I knew I would be fighting for another two days. They only have fights every couple days, and I'm on the second fighting day, next to team SSSN's fight. There had been 2 fights before RWBY's fight, and there was 1 more fight after Emerald and Mercury today. When we got to the room, they started strategizing.

Rocket: You realize I might be competing against you guys, right?

Blake: There is a pretty small chance of that, and even then, we need to strategize.

I looked out the window, and saw a weirdly shaped ship. It was a plane with the wings in an "x" shape, with banners fluttering behind them. It was moving pretty fast. It crossed from view of the window within seconds.

Rocket: That was a weird ship…

Ruby: Huh?

Suddenly everyone was at the window to look outside.

Ruby: I don't see one…

Then there was a loud roar, and it went right by the window!

Wiess: *Gasp* Winter!

And then, Weiss was out the door.

Ruby: I should go figure out what Weiss was talking about.

Rocket: I'll go with you. While we're doing that, you two can keep planning. That way, I won't be listening in on your plans.

Then, Ruby was out the door, running.

Rocket: Well, time to go…


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

POV: Omniscient

There was gruff, middle aged man. When you looked at him the word "dusty" came to mind. He was drinking at a bar, watching the current match.

Bartender: Man, those kids can fight.

?: Meh, they aren't that good.

Bartender: How many of those have you had? Those kids were amazing!

The man looked outside, and noticed the same airship Rocket had noticed minutes earlier.

?: I've got to go.

His words were slurred, and he stumbled out the door, his tattered red cape fluttering behind him. He was definitely drunk.

Bartender: Be careful! Oh, gee darn…

Those last words were used as he knocked one of the glasses off the counter.

POV: Rocket

We finally caught up to Weiss, and she was standing next to someone, who also had white hair, and a gray metallic sword. She noticed us as we walked up.

Weiss: Oh, and these are the leaders of our team! Rocket and Ruby. Rocket, Ruby, this is my sister, Winter.

Rocket: Nice to meet you.

Ruby: Hi! Good to meet'chya!

Winter: So, these are the leaders you spoke of?

It was obvious that Weiss had written to Winter about who we all were. I wonder if she mentioned Blake's faunus heritage?

Rocket: Yes, we are the co-leaders of team RRWBY.

Winter: Well, sister, I can't stay for very long, but I do have a break in my schedule, so I will check your sleeping quarters to make sure they are up to code.

Weiss: Ok! I-

Ruby: Just know the bunk beds only LOOK unstable.

Rocket: Hey, my knots are safe! The ceiling might not be strong enough though…

Winter: Wait, bunk beds?

She turned to Wiess.

Winter: That's a bit immature of you, Wiess.

Rocket: Actually, the decision was put to a vote. Weiss was the only one against.

Winter: Hmm… I will have to check your work.

Weiss whispered to us

Weiss: You guys should go ahead, to get the room ready.

Ruby: Ok, we have to go. We will meet up with you later- i mean, we will reconvene… at a later… junction.

When she looked up from trying to figure out fancy words, Weiss and Winter were walking away, not even listening.

Rocket: Just stick to informal. It suits you better.

Ruby: Well, I was trying to be impressive!

Rocket: I'm pretty sure you lost any semblance impressiveness in her eyes when you mentioned bunk beds.

Ruby threw pillow #8.

Rocket: Hey! Anyways, we should probably go get the room ready now.

And with that, we left for our room.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

POV: Omniscient

Winter and Weiss were walking back pretty slowly, which let Rocket and Ruby get ahead of them. If with that, they had only made it 37 steps, when they heard a clunk from behind them. When they turned around, there was a gruff, middle aged man standing there. He had a tattered, red cape that was waving in the slight breeze. There was the head of an atlesian knight on the ground in front of him, and the body was behind him.

Winter: You just destroyed Atlas military property.

?: Oh, I'm sorry! I must have mistaken this for some sort of… sentient garbage.

Weiss: Do you know who your talking t-

?: Shhshshh…

He put his hand directly on Weiss' head and pushed her out of the way.

?: I'm not here for you, ice queen.

Weiss: Hey!

Winter: You must not have heard me. I sa-

?: Oh, I heard plenty. I also heard that Ironwood finally turned his back on old Oz.

Weiss: Ozpin? What does he have to do with th-

Winter: I would suggest holding your tongue, or I will gladly remove it for you.

She drew her sword. It looked like a plain saber, but like most weapons, it probably had some sort of transformation.

POV: Rocket

We had cleaned the room and waited for about 5 minutes.

Rocket: We should probably go meet back up with them.

Ruby: Why? We could always clean the room again…

Rocket: I'm pretty sure you just left more of a mess that you picked up.

I ran outside quickly, before she could throw another pillow at me. When we made it out to a courtyard, there was a group of people, around a very fast fight. Weiss was standing to the side of the group, with a worried look. Mercury passed by me, walking away from the fight.

Rocket: What's going on?

Weiss: Some drunk guy walked up, and attacked my sister!

Ruby: Oh my gosh who would do such a thi- AND IT'S MY UNCLE! Kick her butt uncle Qrow!

Weiss: Wha- uh, teach him respect, Winter!

The were almost moving to fast to follow. Luckily, slowing down my perception of time is a thing. They split apart, and had a bit of a staredown. It was just then that I noticed Ironwood coming. Winter didn't notice, but Qrow did. He put away his sword, and beckoned to Winter. Of course, she took it as a taunt and used glyphs to launch herself forward. Her sword was about to hit him in the face, whe-

Ironwood: Schnee!

She stopped, a couple millimeters from his throat. Then, she snapped to attention.

Ironwood: What do you think you two are doing?

Winter: He started the altercation, sir!

Qrow: Actually, she attacked first.

Rocket: Are you counting verbal attacks as an attack?

Ironwood: Winter follow me, now. And Qrow, what are you doing here?

With that, Ironwood walked away, leaving Qrow standing in the middle of th-

Ruby: UNCLE QROOOOOW!

Ruby held onto her uncle's arm. She was bare small enough that she could hang onto to his arm, held straight out to the side, and not touch the ground.

Ruby: Hi. It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!

Qrow looked at his niece for a second.

Qrow: Nah.

They both laughe-

Ozpin: Qrow. A word, please?

Qrow: I think I'm in trouble…

Ruby: You did kid of destroy our courtyard.

They looked over at a crater that had been made during the fight.

Qrow: Yah, I guess I did. I'll catch you later, kid.

With that, he lowered his arm, letting Ruby slip off.

Weiss: And suddenly your recklessness makes sense.

Ruby: You're just mad cause he kicked her butt.

Weiss: Hey, that was a DRAW at best!


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

POV: Omniscient

Qrow and Winter had been split up to be disciplined. Qrow had been scolded by Glynda and Ozpin, while Ironwood listened to the whole story from Winter, and waited for the other group. Winter was pacing. Ironwood was standing behind where she was pacing. The elevator dinged. The door opened. Qrow stepped out, with Glynda and Ozpin behind him.

Ironwood: What were you thinking!? If you were one of my men, I would have you SHOT.

Qrow: If I was one of YOUR men, I'd shoot myself.

Glynda: Well, it certainly didn't help with Winter reacting as she did.

Winter: He was drunk!

Glynda: HE'S ALWAYS DRUNK.

They looked over, hearing a gulping sound. They saw Qrow drinking out of a canteen. They could smell the faint scent of vodka radiating from the bottle. He noticed them looking at him, and simply stopped drinking, looked up, and shrugged.

Ozpin: Qrow, why are you here?

Ironwood: You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field.

Qrow: I'm not one of your "Special operatives", Jimmy.

Winter: That's GENERAL to you.

Qrow: Whatever. You sent me to get intel on the enemy. I'm telling you, our enemy is here.

Ironwood: We know.

Qrow: Oh! You know! Well thank goodness I'm out there, risking my life, to keep you all INFORMED!

Ironwood: Qrow!

Qrow got out his scroll.

Qrow: Communication 's a two way street pal. See that? THAT'S THE SEND BUTTON.

Winter: They had reasons to assume you had been compromised.

Qrow: And I have reasons to assume you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?

Ironwood: *Sigh* Schnee, we'll discuss this back on the ship.

Winter: Yes sir.

Winter walked by Qrow and glared at him. He simply winked back. As soon as she was gone, everyone just looked at Qrow.

Ironwood: Go on.

Qrow: Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn. They're the ones responsible for Autumn's condition.

Glynda: What?

Qrow took a deep breath, and thought for a second before speaking.

Qrow: Despite what the world thinks, we aren't just teachers, headmasters, or generals. The people in this room, the other two headmasters, we're the ones keeping the world safe from the evils no one even knows about. It's why we meet behind closed doors, and work from the shadows.

He walked over to right in front of Ironwood.

Qrow: So you tell me, James. When you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn?

Ironwood just stared for a second, then got out his scroll and placed it on the table.

Ironwood: Discreet wasn't working. I'm here because this is what was necessary.

Qrow: You're here, because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of the inner circle, and opened your eyes to the real fight in front of us-

Ironwood: And I am grateful.

Qrow: Well, you've got a real funny way of showing it.

Ironwood: The people of Vale needed someone to protect them. Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength.

Qrow just started laughing.

Ironwood: What?

Qrow: You think they care about your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you. They are fear.

Ozpin: And fear will bring the grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. An army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a little question in the back of everyone's heads: "If this is the size of our defenses, what is it we are expecting to fight?"

Ironwood looked around, and the irritated faces around him. He walked over and picked up his scroll. Just before he touched it, though, the symbol of a queen chess piece appeared. No one noticed it before it disappeared.

Ironwood: So what would you suggest we do?

Ozpin: I suggest that we find our guardian.


	8. Chapter 6 (continued)

Chapter 6.5

POV: Omniscient

Cinder was pacing back and forth in her room. Mercury was sitting on the floor, and Emerald was laying on the bed.

Cinder: And you're sure it was him?

Mercury: Red cape. Wielded that giant sword. Smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him.

Emerald: So what are we going to do?

Cinder: Well sit here, and stay the course. They have no idea who we are, are what's coming for them.

Her scroll beeped.

Cinder: Oh, and we have a new access point.

Ironwood's face popped up on her screen. She scrolled through all the files, and found something interesting, called the P.E.N.N.Y..

Cinder: I think we have a small change of plans here.

Emerald: So, what are your orders?

Cinder: Let's give the crowd a good fight. You will fight in 4 days, during the doubles round.

While she said that, Cinder used her scroll to set the fight for 4 days later. She set it as Mercury and Emerald vs. Coco and Yatsuhashi.


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

POV: Rocket

Weeks had gone by since the fight against the Ro-bot, and things seemed normal. Except, of course for the fact that the DANCE was coming up. Basically, it was a chance for guys all over the school to ask the girls they had a crush on out to dance. The fun part, was watching the ones that didn't work. For instance, we were hanging out in the girls' room, when we heard a knock. Weiss walked over and opened the door. Jaune was standing at the door with a guitar.

Jaune: Wei-

Weiss slammed the door in his face.

Jaune: Aw come on! Please open the door…

She didn't.

Jaune: I promise I won't sing.

She thought about it for a second, shrugged, and opened the door.

Jaune: I lieeeed!

She slammed the door again. This time, I think it hit his head.

Yang: And THAT is why they call you the Ice Queen.

Weiss: What? All my life boys have only been interested in the family name and the money that comes with it.

Rocket: Jaune didn't even know who Pyrrha was when he saw her. I doubt he has connected your name with the company.

Weiss: Well, even then, I already have a date in mind.

Yang: And who might that be?

Weiss: It's-

Blake slammed the door open. She had bags under her eyes. She walked over and plopped down into her bed, and pulled her scroll out. She was looking at news stories on the white fang.

Ruby: Still thinking about Torchwick?

Blake: Torchwick, the white fang, all of it!

Yang: There isn't anything else we can do about right now.

Blake: Except no one knows the white fang like I know them!

Yang: Stop beating yourself up about this. We already destroyed his main weapon against us. When you worry about this, you get less sleep. Your grades are suffering.

Blake: Do you think I care about grades?

Rocket: Well, has the research you've been doing given us any vital information?

Blake: Wha- Um… No.

Rocket: Then you don't need to kill yourself for information that isn't valuable.

Blake: I'M. FINE. I can handle a little less sleep. I can take it.

Rocket: But that doesn't mean you should only sleep 2 hours a night.

Blake: I'm going back to the library.

The entire group exchanged glances. We all knew. Blake couldn't keep going like this. Before she could leave, Weiss stopped her.

Weiss: You could at least give yourself a couple days to relax. Maybe until after the dance?

Blake: 3 days? We don't have that luxury. I don't even like dancing anyways…

The way she said that, I'm not completely convinced.

Yang: Well, since Weiss and I are planning the entire event, can make sure you have the best night ever!

Blake: You guys are doing WHAT?!

Weiss: Team CFVY's mission ran longer than expected, so they needed us to cover for them.

Blake: You guys are ridiculous.

Sun: You know what isn't ridiculous? How about me and you at the dance.

Blake: I'm done.

Blake walked out quickly not even looking at Sun.


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

POV: Omniscient

A couple days later, there was a match between Emerald and Mercury and Coco and Yatsuhashi the next day, and I went out to watch it. I had a feeling I already knew the winner, but I wanted to see how they went about it.

Port: For the match tonight we have Emerald and Mercury of Haven against Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!

Finally, the randomizers started up. There were 4 this time, instead of 2, like usual. I was sitting with the rest of the team. Ruby had chosen a spot right next to Velvet, who I think made up around 30% of the cheering we heard. Either way, the randomizers chose a forest quadrant, a geyser quadrant, a grain field, and an urban jungle. Looking at it, it kind of reminded me of Mountain Glenn. The field and forest were behind Emerald and Mercury. As soon as the countdown was over, Emerald and Mercury stepped into the field. Yatsuhashi and Coco just glanced at each other, before Coco took out her gun. The crowd went crazy. She fired into the field, and her gun acted like a lawnmower, cutting down all of the grass. When all of it was gone, Emerald and Mercury weren't there! Yatsuhashi and Coco just waited in anticipation for the blow they knew were coming, but from where, they didn-

Yatsuhashi: Look out!

He pushed Coco out of the way, and blocked a giant kick from Mercury. Mercury began absolutely wailing on them. Mercury was all over the place during the fight, something neither Yatsuhashi or Coco could keep up with with their oversized weapons. At one point, Mercury hit the back of Coco's gun, making the barrel go into Yatsuhashi's stomach. Coco quickly switched it back to briefcase form, something she should have done a while ago, and swung and Mercury, who was still behind her from the kick. He easily jumped backwards, and fired off two shots from his shoes. They spun around each other, but each one managed to still be aimed at either Yatsuhashi or Coco. They easily blocked them, Yatsuhashi cutting through one, and Coco hitting the other to the side. When they turned back around, Mercury was breakdancing, and firing the shots into the air. They have to be controllable, or else he wouldn't be able to keep them in the air like that. After even just a few seconds, he had a tornado whipping around him, made up of hundreds of whatever that projectile is. Then, they all were flung at Yatsuhashi and Coco, who couldn't block all of them. They were dazed for a second. Coco was hit a lot harder that Yatsuhashi was, since she was more of a glass cannon. Coco stumbled back in the mist that the explosions had created, when Emeralds sickles came out of nowhere, and looped around Coco with chains attached to the back. Coco was dragged into the forest.

Yatsuhashi: Coco!

That was when he was hit in the face by Mercury. Unfortunately for Mercury, he didn't get out of reach in time, and was grabbed by Yatsuhashi, who threw him into the geyser fields, and followed with a jump. This was the kind that I've seen destroy entire streets in a single blow, and Mercury just used his feet to catch the sword, and then he sprang up off his back throwing Yatsuhashi off. Yatsuhashi landed on his feet though, and the close combat quickly resumed. They both seemed to be at a stalemate, until Yatsuhashi was kicked onto a geyser, which activated in his face. While he was blinded, Mercury got off a finishing move.

I didn't see much of what happened to Coco in the trees, but the next thing I saw was Coco sent flying next to Yatsuhashi. Both were unconscious.


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

POV: Omniscient

Weiss was with Winter, talking while practicing. It was Winter's last day in the area. Winter was breaking the news to Weiss.

Weiss: Wait, you're… leaving?

Winter: I was only needed to oversee the shipment of new units to Vale. Our last shipment was taken in a raid. I believe you actually had a run in with the cargo. It's lucky it was still in it's prototype phase, or else you might not have fared so well.

Weiss seemed very disheartened by that comment. She had thought that that was quite a difficult fight, and it was only against a prototype?

Winter: Weiss, you've… done well. Out here on your own. You should be proud.

That seemed to cheer up Weiss quite a lot, since even a few words of praise from Winter was equal to volumes of praise from anyone else.

Winter: I'll be honest, it was quite amusing seeing father's face the day you left for Beacon.

Weiss: I can't wait to show him what I've learned!

Winter: Oh? And what do you think you've learned?

Weiss: What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyphs, I've even started time dilati-

Winter: And what of your summoning?

Weiss: I- I don't even think I can do it at this point…

Winter: Don't be silly, of course you can! Every Schnee has the ability to summon. We have for generations!

Weiss: It's just… It's the one thing I'm having trouble with.

Winter sighed.

Winter: We Schnee's are unique. Unlike many, our semblance is hereditary, but that does not mean it will come easily. Your semblance is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become. If you only use one part of it, if you fail to test the limits of what you can do, then you'll never truly grow.

Winter, within seconds, summoned a beowulf. Instead of it's usual color, though, it was white and light blue.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

POV: Rocket

Ruby: You'll never beat me, old man!

Qrow: You're nothin' but talk, kid.

Yang: You can do it, Ruby!

They were playing a ninja fighting game, and Ruby looked like she was winni-

Announcer: Soaring Ninja Wins! Total annihilation!

That was Qrow.

Qrow: Also, NEVER CALL ME OLD.

Yang: Ok, now it's my turn.

Yang jumped to the controller, knocking Ruby out of the way.

Announcer: A new challenger approaches!

Qrow: Now where was I?

Ruby: You were telling us about your last mission!

Qrow: Oh, right. I came across a small village in Mistral, West of the swamps. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right.

Ruby: What were you doing there?

Qrow: I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the local tavern. The place was crawling with low-lifes and thugs, even a few huntsmen I could only assume had been hired by less than reputable people, for less than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened.

Yang: What happened?

Qrow: I was defeated… by the mere sight… of the innkeepers skirt length!

Announcer: Soaring Ninja Wins! Absolute domination!

I don't even know how he won, since he didn't have either hand on the controller while he told his story.

Yang: You jerk!

Yang threw pillow #9.

Yang: You are the worst!

Qrow and Ruby started laughing. I couldn't help but join in, since he had flawlessly distracted Yang entirely while he had told his story.

Rocket: I'm next!

Announcer: A new challenger approaches!.

Ruby: So, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?

Qrow: Nah, me and Oz go way back. We're cool.

Yang: Cool for an old guy.

Qrow: Hey, I'm not old.

Ruby: So what are you doing here anyways? I thought you were supposed to be on a mission for, like, forever.

Qrow: Well, a professional huntsman like myself is expected to get results as soon as possible.

Ruby: Yah, I get that. We're basically pros at this point.

Qrow: Oh really?

Yang: Pshh! Yah, read the news sometime! We totally saved Vale while you were gone.

Qrow: Funny, cause I heard that Vale suffered a Grimm attack the likes of which it's never seen… after you ALMOST managed to stop a train. And they don't give out medals for almost.

Ruby: They do and it's called SILVER!

Yang: Yah, well we helped take down Roman Torchwick. He's locked up on Ironwood's ship, and crimes been down ever since. That's basically a bounty mission.

Qrow: You might be acting like huntresses, but you're not thinking like one. Did you seriously think that 4 girls, a boy, and their dog could end all crime in Vale?

Ruby: I mean, I did until you said that…

Qrow: Violence hasn't just gone down since Roman got nabbed, it's stopped. COMPLETELY. No white fang activity anywhere. You cut off the head of a king Taitaju, but now the other head is calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick, metal, skull of his.

Yang: You… know the general?

Qrow: Hey, I know everyone to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon. Team STRQ. That's when I met your parents.

He held out a picture to Ruby and Yang. Yang seemed mesmerized by one of them. Judging by the fact that the other female looked suspiciously like Ruby, I'm guessing that one was her mom.

Qrow: We were pretty well known back in the day.

Ruby: Well known for crummy fashion sense…

Qrow: Hey, we looked good. And I have a number of inappropriate stories to prove it… But I'll save those for when you're older.

Announcer: Dragon Ninja Wins!

Rocket: YES!

Qrow: Huh, it's about time one of you beats me.

He got up.

Qrow: Well, it's time I get going. I'm a bit too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. You're gonna cramp my style. Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go. And don't think for a second that graduation means you're done learning! Each day out there is worth a week in this place. You three… you're gonna go far. As long as you keep learning. if you never stop moving forward. Do that, and you'll be fine.

Saying that, Qrow walked out.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

POV: Omniscient

Weiss and Winter, after their previous exchange, had begun working on summoning.

Winter: Excellent form! Now think of your fallen foes. The ones that forced you to push yourself past who you were, and into who you are now. Think of them, and what as they come to your side.

Weiss stopped angrily. Her glyph had started to fade, and she couldn't stand another one disappearing completely on it's own, so she just it off.

Weiss: I can't!

Winter: Yes you can! Stop doubting yourself.

Weiss: I'm trying!

Winter: If this is what you call trying, you have no hope of winning the tournament! Let alone succeeding as a huntress. Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure father will give you a nice, easy job as a RECEPTIONIST.

Weiss: I don't need his charity!

Winter: But you do need his money, don't you?

Weiss: What?! How did you know about that?

Winter: Lucky guess. I may have been in a similar position when I first joined the military. So, what have you done this time?

Weiss: That's the thing… I'm really not sure… I went to pay for lunch the other day, but my card didn't work.

Winter: How embarrassing.

Weiss: I know, right?

Winter just shook her head.

Weiss: Well it was! Why would he just cut me off?

Winter: Maybe so you would stop avoiding him and call home.

Weiss just went back to trying to summon. A glyph appeared again, and began spinning.

Winter: Emotions can grant you strength, but you must never let them overpower you.

She grabbed onto Weiss' shoulder. The glyph disappeared.

Winter: It seems to me like you have two choices in front of you. You can either call him, beg for his money back, and explain once more why you chose Beacon over Atlas, or you can continue exploring Remnant, learning more about the world and truthfully more about yourself. It's time for me to go.

Weiss: It's been nice to see you.

They embraced.

Winter: Until next time, sister.

The split apart. It was also time for Weiss to go to the arena to fight in one of the next battles. The path they had to go on went in opposite directions.

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On the walk to the arena, Weiss got a call. It was from her father. She let it ring for a second, before denying the call and putting her scroll back in her pocket, now fully split from the Schnee Dust Company and its income.


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

POV:Omniscient

Penny was facing off against Dove and Russel. She used 16 swords, split into 2 wheels of 8 blades. She threw one at each of them. Both dodged behind a nearby rock. Penny's swords attached to the rocks, and stuck. Both Dove and Russel tried to climb over the rock to attack, but Penny had a different idea. While they were climbing onto the rocks, Penny simply lifted them up, and slammed them back down on the ground. Dove and Russel were both taken down by that one.

Oobleck: And the winners are… Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil!

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POV: Rocket

Ruby and I went to go congratulate Penny after that match. After all, she had just defeated two opponents in 1 move. We saw Penny and Ciel near the exit.

Ruby: Penny!

Penny: Hey, Ruby!

They hugged.

Ruby: Gak!... you're... crushing… me…

Penny let go, and Ruby dropped to the ground, completely out of breath.

Penny: Ruby, this is my teammate-

Ciel: Ciel Soleil.

Ruby: Oh, nice to meet you! I'm-

Ciel: Ruby Rose, 15, hails from Patch, mental status: Questionable.

Rocket: What do you guys have about me?

Ciel: Hmm… I don't even know your name…

Ruby: So... . Penny! You two were incredible out there! How do you keep control over all those swords? It's so cool!

Penny: I-

Ciel: Penny, I believe it would be best if we moved on to our next location.

Penny: Could we have just a minute to talk?

Ciel took a step back and nodded. She was out of earshot.

Ruby: So is she… your friend… or?

Penny: In a way, she's like Blake, if Blake was ordered to be around you.

Rocket: So, Weiss?

Both of the girls started laughing.

Ruby: So, does SHE know about… you know… beep boop bop?

Penny: Oh, no. General Ironwood does not want anyone to know. There was an incident with a magnet yesterday, but I was able to play it off.

They both started giggling again.

Penny: Ruby, there's something I've wanted to talk to you about. I want to stay at Beacon.

Ruby: Penny, you know they would never let you do that…

Penny: Don't worry! I have a pla-

Ciel stepped back forward angrily.

Ciel: It has been precisely 1 minute MA'AM.

Penny: I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby!

They walked awa-

Port: The next match will start in 15 minutes!

Ruby: Oh that's right! Up next we have-

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

POV: Omniscient

Weiss and Yang were standing in the middle of the arena, waiting for their opponents. Yang was stretching.

Yang: Welp, looks like it's our turn.

Weiss: Just remember to keep proper form.

Yang: Yah, yah. You're from Atlas, what can we expect.

Weiss: Well, seeing as the military as basically merged with their academy, we can probably expect strict, militant fighters with highly advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strateg-

There was a whoosh as on of their opponents when right by them. Standing in front of them, were two teenagers, each with sloppier costumes than anything Weiss was expecting. Their names were Flynt Coal, and Neon Cat

Weiss: Or, whoever those two are-

Flynt: Hey, you're Weiss Schnee aren't you? The heiress.

Weiss: Yes, I am.

Flynt: I take it you're pretty good with dust then?

Weiss: I try my best-

Flynt: Yah, my dad was good too… He even owned a dust shop of his own. That is, until your company ran him out of business!

Weiss: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, I-

Flynt: Sure you are…

Yang: Hey why don't you-

Neon: "Hey why don't you-". That's what you sound like.

Yang: Grr…

Neon: Hey, where did you get your hair extensions?

Yang: Um, this is just my normal hair…

Neon: Oh… bleg...

Yang: Hey!

Just then, the randomizer started up. The arena ended up being split into 4 sections. The first, was another lava geyser zone. The next, was a urban jungle. The next, was a normal geyser field, and the last one was a desert zone.

Port: 3! 2! 1!


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

POV: Rocket

Port: Go!

Immediately, Flynt put his trumpet to his face, playing a single note. Normally, it wouldn't do anything, but this isn't a normal situation. A horizontal tornado-like cone was made in front of the trumpet, hitting Yang and Weiss. Neon then jumped in. Since she was going with the blast of wind, she was pushed forward. Since Weiss was anchored by a glyph, Neon attacked Yang. Yang was launched into the urban jungle, where Neon proceeded to taunt her. Meanwhile, Weiss was making progress in the cone. She was using her glyphs to push her forward, so she slowly made it closer to Flynt. He realized her strategy, and immediately stopped playing. Weiss couldn't react fast enough, so she was thrown forward, into the geyser field. Flynt slowly walked forward. He had some revenge to take. While Weiss and Flynt were fighting, Neon was still just messing around with Yang, trying to goad her into throwing a tantrum. Neon apparently hasn't done her research, since she didn't expect Yang to accidentally destroy an entire building. Neon ran away, occasionally hitting Yang with her Ice nunchucks, still throwing insults. Even I could hear her high pitched, annoying voice. She ended up just circling Yang and throwing insults for a minute. When I looked back over, Weiss was getting destroyed. She kept trying to use her glyphs to move around him, but he kept just knocking her out of it. Eventually, Flynt split into 4 of himself, each with their own trumpet. Then, all 4 of them played at the same time, launching Weiss even further, into solid rock. Flynt turned around, and saw Yang being heckled by Neon, who was just going in a wide circle around Yang.

Yang: Just SHUT UP!

Neon: Wow, you should seriously go to an anger management class…

All 4 of Flynt's copies turned to Yang. While he was walking closer to the pair, Weiss woke back up, and saw Flynt about to attack Yang in a move that would be the end of her. She also saw a geyser right next to him. She knew what she had to do.

She stealthily snuck up behind the Flynt copy furthest from the geyser. She grabbed him, and dragged/pushed all 4 copies into the geyser next to them, going in with them. As soon as all 5 of them were in the geyser, it went off.

Port: Did Weiss just sacrifice herself to take Flynt Coal out of the battle? Amazing!

Yang: Huh?

She looked over at the geyser field, and saw Weiss laying next to geyser, where the explosion had launched her out. Then she saw someone step out of the smoke left over in the geyser.

Port: What is this? Flynt survived the geyser! It is now a 2v1. What will Ms. Xiao Long do?

Neon stopped heckling Yang and rolled over to Flynt.

Neon: Oh, don't worry, she's easy. All you have to do is piss her off a bi-

Yang suddenly released all of her built up anger, in one shout. The sonic wave from her roar activated all of the geysers behind her.

Port: It looks like Yang getting angry and you won't like her when she's… upset.

Flynt and Neon did the same attack that they opened with, launching Neon at Yang. Yang used her shot-gauntlets to launch herself forward, over Neon. Neon was sent flying into the fire geyser area, where her skates just aren't useful. Yang was still trapped in the stream. I would imagine space itself was bending around her as she moved forward through the stream of the Killer Quartett. She ended up with one fist blocking up the main Flynt's trumpet. Suddenly all of the streams stopped. There was a moment of silence. Then Yang fired. The last bit of aura Flynt had was cleared out. Meanwhile Neon was trying to skate around in the geyser field to get back to the fight. Then, a pebble happened. She tripped, and rolled a couple times. When Yang turned around, Neon had been launched into the air by a geyser. Yang fired one shot that took out Neon.

Port: And the Winner is… Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee!

Yang then remembered something, or, rather, someone.

Yang: Weiss!

She ran over to where the heiress had fallen. Weiss was covered in soot, and was just starting to return to consciousness. Her voice was weak.

Weiss: Did we win?

The rest of us arrived, ready to help Weiss if necessary.

Yang: Yah. Are you ok?

Weiss: *Cough* I… don't think I'll be singing for a while…

Flynt: You have guts Schnee. Sacrificing yourself like that? You have my respect.

Neon: That… Was… AMAZING! You guys were awesome!

Ruby: I mean, now the last doubles match is just-

Oobleck: Our next match starts in 15 minutes, between Rocket, and team SSSN's Sun and Neptune!


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

POV: Rocket

Sun and Neptune were sitting in the middle of the arena, playing cards while waiting for the match to start.

Rocket: Hey, what are you guys playing?

Sun: It's Blackjack! I'm playing as the house.

Rocket: But isn't Blackjack designed so the house wins?

Sun: Um… No! It's totally not…

Rocket: Well, are you betting actual money?

Neptune: I'm betting money, he isn't for some reason…

I just facepalmed. This was going to be such an interesting match.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

We actually had our weapons ready this time, and the match was about to start.

Sun: You ready to get rekt?

I didn't respond.

Sun: I said are yo-

Rocket: Sorry, I thought you were talking amongst yourselves.

I looked behind them, at where team RWBY was seated. The team seemed to be split on who they want to win. The randomizer started up.

Rocket: I swear if it's another fire geyser field…

And that's what 2 of the sectors became.

Rocket: OH COME ON!

They were the two behind me. The two behind Sun and Neptune became a desert with a sandstorm, and a bunch of floating, black, blocks. I think I know where I'm going…

Port: 3! 2! 1! Go!

The first thing they did was attack. The first thing I did was jump over both their head and run into the floating block area. I had black magnetic gloves I made and kept on me for some reason. They found their use that day. I easily jumped between the blocks, using my gloves to stick to the sides. I waited for them to attack I didn't have to wait long.

Sun: Where did he go?

Neptune: He just… disappeared!

Is funny how no one seems to ever look up when they look for people. After they passed right under me, I silently dropped behind them. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that both of them were trembling and tensed in anticipation, as if their body wanted to prepare for a blow that they knew was coming. I love being feared. I aimed the first strike at Sun. I quickly hit his staff out of his hands, and into Neptune's gun, as he was firing. That caused his first shot to go flying off into the distance. I ducked a roundhouse kick from Sun. He has really fast reflexes. Neptune finally got his act together and successfully aimed his gun at me. He never fired though. My scythe launched his gun into the air before he could do that. Sun went for a sweep, which I simply jumped over, catching Neptune's gun. While in the air, I seperated my mind from the timeline, giving me plenty of time to aim directly at Neptune's feet. I fired, and rejoined my mind into the timeline. The explosion cause by the rocket threw Neptune almost out of the arena. He got back up as I threw the pike at him. I then turned to Sun, who had retrieved his bo-staff. He quickly summon 2 clones, and I quickly destroyed both of them. He followed them, splitting his staff into gunchuck form. I had already seen his strategy once before against Roman. I blocked the bullets easily, and waited for my time to strike. At a point where both gunchucks were in the air, I swiped my scythe, catching both. As soon as he was disarmed, I hit him in the side of the head with the end of my scythe. I heard a hissing sound. I quickly turned around, and slashed. I cut the missile that was headed straight for me in two. They both exploded behind me, almost hitting Sun. I took a single step back, into the smoke. When it faded, I was gone. I had jumped up on top of the block above them. I climbed to the top, waiting for them to follow. I made sure to be seen and make noise, so they would follow. I looked at the stat board. Sun and Neptune were both pretty low on aura, while my bar was still full. Just then, both of them made it to the top. Sun a few second ahead of Neptune, because of the monkey tail. I just waited. I waited for my- Neptune fired. Instead of doing what I did before by cutting it in half, I put away my scythe. I stepped to the side, caught the missle, and before they could react, threw it at them. The explosion rocked the block we were standing on. They both fell off. I fell off too, but with a bit more grace.

Neptune: Too high! WAY too high!

Before the 3 of us hit the ground. I use one of my magnetic gloves, caught the corner of a block, and use my scythe to drag all 3 of us on the block. When they stood up, I tapped both of them on the shoulder, lowering their aura just enough to count as eliminations.

Rocket: And, done.

The crowd was quiet for a second, not quite realizing what had happened. As soon as the replay finished, everyone was laughing.

Sun: Why didn't you just let us hit the ground?

Rocket: You would have hit a different block first, breaking your aura, leaving you unprotected for the rest of the fall. Plus, this way was much more entertaining.


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

POV: Rocket

The next few days were pretty boring. They flew by with training, training, and more training. I saw Yang few times, but she was too anxious to chat. After all, she was up next against Mercury. I had 3 days after that until I fought the winner of that fight.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

It was the day of the fight. It was going to be the biggest fight yet, since they had seen Yang and Mercury's previous fights. The turnout was out the doors. People were ready for this fight. Yang and Mercury were out in the center, shaking hands before the fight. The arena wasn't randomized for this fight, they only had a small circle to fight. Luckily for them, I don't think they planned to do much arial stuff. They both got into a combat stance.

Port: 3! 2! 1! GO!

Immediately they started circling closer. When they were within reach of each other, the fight began. Yang attacked first with an easily predictable roundhouse, which Mercury ducked. He jumped backwards, bicycle kicking Yang and doing a backflip. Yang stumbled back, before recovering, and quickly x-blocking an overhead kick from Mercury. She launched him off by firing both gauntlets at once. He landed. They traded blows so quickly, that it was nearly impossible to keep up with. Yang's impacts had a golden glow, while, with every step, Mercury left a silvery trail. Mercury did a roundhouse kick, which Yang easily ducked under. Then, showing an extreme amount of muscle control, he reversed the kick and stomped. Yang rolled backwards. Mercury charged, and tried yet another roundhouse kick. Yang ducked it, but this time, she uppercut him quickly after, and elbowed him in the stomach. When he instinctively doubled over, she used her other arm to punch him in the face. He landed flat on his back. Yang jumped to do a ground-pound, but Mercury rolled out of the way. He got up with a sweep, which Yang jumped over. As soon as she landed, she looked up. Mercury was making a tornado again. Yang dodged a few of the shots on their way up, but then Mercury himself attacked with the tornado going around them. His first kick was aimed at her face, the next, her waist. Finally, he did a flat-footed front kick, launching Yang backwards. While she was still down, all of the bullets rained from the skies. A cloud of dust went up. Mercury walked away, and brushed the dust off his shoulder. Suddenly he heard an explosion behind him. He slowly turned around, and got a face-full of fist. Yang used her gauntlets to power up her punches, which were already overpowering because of her semblance. Mercury didn't stand a chance.

Port: And the winner is… Yang Xiao Long!

Yang was walking away, when Mercury walked up behind her and offered her his hand.

Mercury: Good job, blondi-

Then Yang did the unbelievable. After the fight, completely unprovoked, on live television, she broke his leg with a single punch.


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

POV: Omniscient

Pyrrha was sitting in Ozpin's office, unaware of the events that had just played out in the arena.

Ozpin: Ms. Nikos, it has come as no surprise that you have been chosen to move on to final round of the tournament. Your performance has been exemplary.

Pyrrha: Thank you, Professor, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates.

?: Personally, I think it's the other way around.

Pyrrha turned in her seat, to find a dusty old man with a tattered, red cap leaning on the wall of Ozpin's office.

Pyrrha: I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced.

Qrow: The name's Qrow.

Ozpin: Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine.

There was a moment of awkward silence as niether Qrow or Pyrrha said anything.

Pyrrha: So… professor Ozpin. If you don't mind me asking, why did you call me here today?

Ozpin: Straight to the point, I see. Well, first I have a question of my own to ask you. What is your favorite fairy tale?

Pyrrha: My favorite fairy tale?

Ozpin: Fairy tales. Kids stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them.

Pyrrha: Well… there's the tale of the Two Brother, there's the Old man and the Shallow Sea…

Ozpin: Have you ever heard the Tale of the Seasons?

Pyrrha: I… can't say that I have.

Ozpin: Well, let's fix that, shall we?

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Ozpin's Story

Once upon a time, deep in the forest of Remnant, beside a mighty river, stood the small, fragile home of a cold, frail old man- A lone wizard. Hidden from the dangers and distractions of this world, the man seldom had visitors. But on this day, as he peered out his window, his gaze fell upon a young maiden. Calmly, she sat beneath his tree in a state of absolute tranquility. When the wizard demanded an explanation, she simply replied, "My name is Winter. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sisters". With that, she closed her eyes and sat in silence. The wizard told himself the girl was a fool, but the longer she sat, the more he wished to share in the serenity the young woman enjoyed. In time, he grew tired and decided to close his eyes as well, thinking on this strange predicament. Upon opening his eyes, the wizard was befuddled to find that a second maiden had appeared beneath his tree, cheerful and spry with a basket of fruit and flowers. When the wizard demanded an explanation, she simply replied, "My name is Spring. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sisters". To show her gratitude for his reluctant hospitality, the girl retrieved a handful of seeds from her basket, and planted them in the wizard's garden. The old hermit could hardly believe his eyes, as the maiden turned what was once a mere pile of dirt and manure into a beautiful garden from which life would surely blossom. It's likely he would have gazed for hours, were it not for the unfamiliar laughter he heard from beneath his tree. I young woman with a warm smile now stood beside the two other maidens. The wizard begged her to introduce herself, to which she happily responded, "My name is Summer. I am on a journey and I'm waiting for my sister". "Of course!" Thought the wizard, until another chirp of laughter left the old man perplexed. What in the world was so funny? As it turned out, it was him. The new arrival found the wizard's insistence on staying indoors so very amusing. Why choose to view the world through a small window, when the door outside was right next to you? It was a compelling argument. And after only a brief moment of hesitation, the wizard left his home, and stepped outside. The warmth of the sun brought with it a surge of energy and life, and soon, the wizard wasn't feeling like his old self anymore, he was feeling much better! As the day drew to a close, the wizard and the maidens all gathered for a feast. Winter set the table, Spring supplied the crops, and Summer prepared the meal. The wizard was the happiest he had been in ages. But in all the excitement, the wizard had failed to notice the delicate woman that now stood beneath his tree. He smiled and beckoned her to join them, asking only her name. She replied, "My name is Autumn, and I am here to meet my sisters. Who are you?". " _Me?_ " the wizard wondered. "I'm just an old hermit. I've lived in these woods for centuries alone, and I'm afraid my story isn't very interesting, as I have no one to love, and nothing to my name." The elder sister looked up at all that surrounded them. "But sir, do you not see? You have so much!" It was true. With their help, it was now clear that the wizard had everything he could ever need. He was grateful, but still, a question lingered in his mind. "Why me?" He asked. "Why did the four of you choose to open my eyes, to share with me your gifts? Why am I so special…" The four sisters looked at eachother perplexed. Finally, the eldest spoke. "I beg your pardon sir, but we did not do these things for you because you were special. We do what we can for everyone, because we are able." The old wizard was at a loss. Never in all his years had he come across such kindness. It was in that moment that he knew what should be done. The wizard summoned his magic, every ounce that he could muster, and bestowed it upon the sisters. He smiled. "Take this gift, and know that you are now able to do so much more." The four sisters, now armed with the elements, the very power of nature, and the unimaginable magic of the wizard, the four maidens, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, promised to carry on with their journey, using their magic to aid others just as they had aided him. One by one the sisters left. Before they left, they made one last promise. They promised to return each and every year, to visit their dear friend.

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Pyrrha: Oh, I think I remember that one, now. It was my mother's favorite.

Ozpin: Would you believe me fi i told you that that tale has been around, even since I was a boy?

Pyrrha: Professor, you're not THAT old!

Ozpin: Now, would you believe me if I told that it was true?

The smile on her face was replaced by a look of confusion.

Pyrrha: I beg your pardon?

Ozpin: What if I told you that there were four maidens, existing in this world, who could wield such tremendous powers… without dust.

Pyrrha: You mean like a semblance?

Ozpin: No. Like magic.

Pyrrha: What…?

Qrow: Yep. First time hearing it is pretty crazy.

Pyrrha: You're… serious.

Ozpin: Do I look like I'm joking?

There was a moment of near silence, with the clockwork in the ceiling ticking the seconds by.

Pyrrha: No. You don't. But… why are you telling me this?

A look passed between Ozpin and Qrow, and Qrow seemed to send a look saying "After you".

Ozpin: We are telling you, Pyrrha Nikos, because we all believe you might be next in line to receive the maiden's powers.

Pyrrha: We… all?

Then, the elevator dinged before opening to reveal Ironwood and Glynda.

Ironwood: Sorry we're late.

Pyrrha turned back to Ozpin, even more confused.

Pyrrha: Who… who are you?

Glynda: You know who we are. We are the same teachers and headmaster we were when you first came to Beacon.

Qrow: The thing is… we have a bit of a part time job, aside from all that.

Ironwood: We are the protectors of the world...

Ozpin: And Pyrrha… we need your help.


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

POV: Omniscient

Pyrrha was in the elevator, thinking about what she had just heard. She snapped back to reality, as the floor indicator went into the negatives.

Pyrrha: Where are we going?

Ozpin: To the vault; under the school.

Pyrrha: The vault…?

Just as she said that, they arrived. The elevator doors opened to a dimly lit room, which was absolutely massive. Along the walls, at least 20 support pillars were spaced a pretty decent distance apart, and there was a massive machine up against the far wall. She realized that the rest of the group had already left the elevator and quickly followed them, hearing the elevator click shut behind her. As they were walking, Glynda slowed down, falling into step with Pyrrha.

Glynda: I'm sure you must have questions.

Pyrrha: Just… one or two… I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the maiden's power. What do you mean by that?

Glynda: The maidens have existed for thousands of years. But seasons change; no two summers are alike. Just like the seasons, the maidens change. When one maiden dies, the power moves on to another, ensuring that the power survives, and that no one person gets the power forever.

Pyrrha: How does it decide?

Qrow: Through a series of convoluted and specific rules.

Glynda: Qrow!

Qrow: Hey, don't get mad because I'm right.

Glynda: You see, at first, the only pattern we could find in the maiden's power, was that it only passed on to young women. But, as time went on, another rule was discovered. Now, it is known that when a maiden dies, the one who was in her thoughts last is the first candidate to gain the powers.

Qrow: Unless that person is a man or some old hag. Then, it goes to someone random. And our jobs get a lot harder.

Pyrrha: Ok, but why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?

Qrow: Honestly, we've run out of time. If you haven't noticed, things are a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are swarming. It won't take long for this peace that we've all enjoyed for so long goes out the window.

Pyrrha: War?

Ironwood: Yes, but not a war between nations.

Qrow: Look, we'll fill you in on the details once we know you're with us. All you need to know right now, is that the fall maiden has been attacked. For the first time in history, the power has been stolen.

Finally, they made it to the machine. A constant beeping sound emanated from it. On on side, there was a glass container. In the container, laid a girl in all white. Her eyes were closed and her face was scarred.

Pyrrha: Is that…

Ozpin: The current fall maiden. Amber.

Pyrrha: She's… still alive?

Ironwood: Barely. The most advanced technology in the world is currently being used to keep her stable… but we're not sure how much longer it'll work. Certain things about this situation are a bit… unprecedented.

Pyrrha: From what you've told me, wouldn't the power just transfer to the next host?

Ironwood: Under normal circumstances, yes. But this situation is a bit more delicate. Is isn't uncommon for the final thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker. And then, there is how the power is split. That's never happened before. For all we know, it might just seek out it's other half.

Pyrrha: Her assailant…

Ozpin: And that would not bode well for any of us.

Pyrrha walked over to the glass container housing Amber. Looking into Amber's face, she saw her reflection staring back from shinier areas of the glass.

Pyrrha: If all of this is true, why keep it a secret? If we are truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?

Glynda: From what we understand, knowledge of the maidens used to be common knowledge.

Qrow: How do you think fairy tales and myth get started? It all begins with a grain of truth.

Glynda: Our group was founded with two goals. To protect humanity, and the maidens. People are constantly hunting their power.

Qrow: And, as you can imagine, the people hunting aren't exactly the type of people you would want with that power.

Ironwood: And so, we allowed knowledge of the maidens to fade away from public eye.

Glynda: Everything we have told you goes against years of human history. People would never believe us.

Ozpin: It would cause a panic. And we all know what panic brings clawing to our walls.

Silence stretced out, only broken by Pyrrh-

Pyrrha: I'll do it. If it's for the good of humanity, I'll do it. I'll become your fall maiden.

The group looked to one another, not quite sure how to respond.

Pyrrha: That's what you wanted, right?

Ozpin: Yes, but… It's not that simple. Given Amber's state, you would never be able to inherit her powers naturally. However, we believe we have a solution. The machine you see in front of you might be able to transfer her aura to you. We believe the maidens powers are directly connected with aura, so it will almost definitely give you the powers.

Pyrrha: Why do I see a big "but" coming?

Ozpin: But, we don't know what else such a procedure will change. It could change your personality, or even your body.

Qrow: We don't know if it's going to work. And if i does, we don't know if you will still be you.

Ozpin: You have a big decision ahead of you, Miss Nikos. That's why we're going to give you time to decide.

Pyrrha: How much?

Ozpin: While I would love to give you as much time as you need, Amber's attacker has made their first move, and we do not know when they will strike again. You have until the end of the Vytal Festival.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

POV: Rocket

I got back to a room in chaos. Yang was sitting on the bed silently, and everyone else was shouting. Not at her, but at each other.

Weiss: How could you not believe her?! She's your teammate!

Blake: I know, but I don't know what to believe anymore…

Weiss: But she's your teammate!

Blake: Yang. Look into my eyes and tell me that you didn't attack him unprovoked.

Yang turned and looked into her eyes for a second.

Yang: He attacked me. I was just defending myself.

Blake: Thank you.

Rocket: I'm back. What all did I miss?

Everyone turned, startled at my sudden appearance.

Ruby: Um, nothing much. We were just trying to figure out what happened.

Rocket: Ah… Ok. Yang, what exactly did you see and hear before you attacked him?

Yang: I heard him shout "Hey blondie! It's not over, till I say it's over. Then he was running at me. That was when I punched.

Rocket: You are absolutely sure that's what you heard?

Yang: Yes! Why can't people just believe me?!

Rocket: Don't worry, I believe you. I have a theory…

Ruby: Oh, yah! Didn't you say something about foul play?

Rocket: Yes. I was talking with team CFVY after their fight, and heard that Coco swore she saw Yatsuhashi in the woods before she was knocked out. But, as you know, he never made it near the woods.

Ruby: So? There is a thing called battle madness. It is rare, but not unheard of…

Rocket: No, I don't think it was battle madness in either case. I think both of you were hallucinating.

Ruby: Isn't that the same thing…?

Rocket: No. Battle madness is caused by your adrenaline rush fogging your rational thinking. Yang still had her rational thinking, since she was able to think to punch him in the leg, which he would most likely have used against her. Hallucinations, meanwhile, are the result of a chemical or other outside source. I think it is very possible that either Mercury's semblance, or some other third party's technology caused Yang to hallucinate that Mercury was attacking her.

Weiss: Wait, why would Mercury get involved like that? He was the one hurt, after all.

Rocket: The main reason I suspect Mercury, is because he was a fighter in both fights, but that isn't solid enough evidence. That's why I think it's more than likely some 3rd party trying to push the blame towards Mercury. This whole thing is a mess… There will probably be 2 people left to fight. Pyrrha and Penny.

Blake: What about you?

Rocket: They asked me to step down, even before this whole thing. That way, they would have an even number, instead of an odd number and a weird system.

Blake: Oh…

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Rocket: Come in.

Ironwood stepped in.

Ironwood: I wanted to come see how you all are doing. That was a pretty big event after all.

Yang: As good as I can after I get in trouble for defending myself.

Ironwood: That's what I came here to tell you all about. Yang has been banned from the tournament.

Yang: But he attacked me-

Ironwood: We have seen your story, and we believe you were suffering from battle madness. That gets you out of any sort of legal trouble, but you just attacked a person on live television. If we let you back in, there would be trouble from the audiences. I hope you can understand.

Yang: Yes sir…

As if Yang's mood could have gotten worse, it just did. She normally was very happy, but instead, she seemed slower. Well, it didn't matter as much anymore, but Penny and Pyrrha were about to enter the last fight of the tournament tomorrow.


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

POV: Rocket

If we thought the turnout for the last match was big, this one was bigger. The stadium was packed to the point where every single seat was filled. Because of that, Ruby and I had to stand near the entrance. According to live video statistic, it is also the most viewed game out of all the matches. The match hadn't quite started yet, but it was going to soon. I was scanning the crowd for threats (After all, I was Pyrrha's bodyguard), when I noticed a girl with green hair and red eyes sitting on the front row.

Rocket: Hey Ruby… Remember my theory?

Ruby: Yah, what about it?

Rocket: Look at the front row, middle of the section.

Ruby: Emerald?! But she went back to Mistral to tell Mercury's family the bad news!

Rocket: If what I'm thinking is right, there might not have been any bad news to tell. Come on, we have to warn the teachers! They might interfere some more.

Ruby: How will we get to them? The hallways are blocked…

Rocket: The maintenance tunnel!

Ruby: But we aren't supposed to go in thei-

I quickly grabbed her arm, and dragged her into the maintenance tunnel. We both started running.

Ruby: Ok, do you know where to turn?

Rocket: I have the map memorized.

Ruby: Ok, but- WOAH!

We both crashed to a halt, as the door we were about to go through opened. Mercury stepped out.

Ruby: Mercury! But, you were… How did you... What's going on?

Mercury looked up at the TV screen, where it showed the fight about to start.

Mercury: Metal versus magnetism… That might not go so well.

Ruby: What are you trying to do with all this?! How aren't you hurt?

Rocket: His legs… they're not real. Their robotic.

Mercury: How did you-

Rocket: Your pant leg lift for a microsecond. You were never hurt, just acting.

Ruby: But wouldn't the medics have discovered his leg wasn't actually broken?

Rocket: Not if the medics never arrived, only people acting like medics. That's why Emerald is here. It's not Mercury causing the hallucinations, it's her. She made Yang see you attacking her, getting her to "break your leg", when in reality, it's just an easily repairable prosthetic. She gets banned from the tournament, and this match becomes the championship. It gets waaay more publicity, meaning if something were to go wrong, it would be everywhere. And I'm guessing something WILL go wrong.

Mercury: Smart. Too bad you won't be able to tell anyone about anything.

I knew that if we tried to get past him, we would get attacked. I just had to-

Ruby: Go!

Ruby forgot to communicate the plan. We both tried to go past him on either side. He managed to shoot both of us. Ruby was knocked out. I landed on my feet.

Rocket: Looks like it's just me and you now.

Mercury: Yep. So, what are you going to do?

Rocket: Trust me, I have no idea.

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POV: Omniscient

Pyrrha had been struggling. 8 swords was too many to deal with. Penny jumped back, giving Pyrrha a small break. Suddenly, Penny held her swords above her head. They duplicated. 10 times. Penny now had a massive storm of swords above her head. There was no way Pyrrha could block them all! Penny began the downward stroke that would end Pyrrha. Pyrrha knew she couldn't lose here. Not after all that she had done to get here. She quickly made a plan, and put it into use. She charged up for a second, and, just before the swords would have hit, she released a massive pulse of magnetic energy. But, instead of the energy being absorbed by the millions of swords like she expected, it was all put into the 8 swords that actually existed. Those 8 swords flew backwards, and the rest of the swords disappeared. Pyrrha looked up, and was shocked. The swords were controlled by strings. When Pyrrha had used the pulse, the strings had tangled around Penny. The swords were already moving so fast, that Pyrrha couldn't stop them. Finally, the wires cut through, splitting Penny into 4 pieces.

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POV: Rocket

I had been fighting Mercury for at least 5 minutes. Not having a scythe doesn't help in this scenario... I had to get out, we had to warn the audience! I quickly grabbed Ruby, and stopped time. I walked over right next to the door, but then my aura gave out. Dragging others through time takes way more effort. While I recovered, I heard the lights flicker for a second, before the crowd went silent.

Ruby: Whaaa…

Rocket: Finally, you're awake. We aren't getting around Mercury, so we'll have to find another way.

Mercury: Hey! I wasn't done with you!

Rocket: Outside, QUICK

Ruby and I ran outside. Ruby took in the surroundings. The crowd was silent. She looked back at me. I was staring wide-eyed at the stage. She looked over and fell on her knees.

Ruby: Penny…

I heard the maintenance door close behind us. A voice came over the intercom, but my mind was too numb to notice. Penny, just like that, was dead. She had been completely broke, her legs and arms ripped off. And her head… dear god her head. It was on the ground at least 5 feet away from the rest of her body,staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. The automatic voice of the defense system came on a few seconds after the other voice stopped.

Com: Level 6 Grimm attack incoming. Evacuation is suggested.


	21. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

POV: Rocket

Level 6? I had only ever heard of a level 3…

Jaune: Pyrrha, come on!

Pyrrha had just been standing there in the middle of the stage with a blank look. A Nevermore was right above her, trying to break in. the ceiling was beginning to crack.

Jaune: Pyrrha! That thing is going to break through!

I looked at Ruby, but she wasn't there anymore. Jaune began to get onto the stage.

Jaune: Pyrr-

Then it broke. The grimm landed right in front of Pyrrha, and she was sent backwards. Her weapons had gone further, and her brain wasn't working correctly. I got out my scroll-

Ruby: Get AWAY from her!

Ruby had somehow gotten onto the stage without me noticing. She didn't have her crescent rose, but she did have one of Penny's swords. The Nevermore began charging.

 _Thunk_

My locker went down through the Nevermore's wing. 30 others soon followed. When Ruby looked up, there was an army of students getting out their weapons.

Pyrrha: Ruby, I'm… I'm so, so sorry…

Ruby; It's not your fault…

Jaune: She's right. You couldn't have seen those wires. You couldn't have known.

Pyrrha: Except I SHOULD have seen them!

Rocket: Actually, you were tricked into not seeing them. Someone is causing people to hallucinate. That's why Yang thought Mercury was attacking her. That's why Coco saw Yatsuhashi in the forest. That's why you didn't see the wires.

Pyrrha: But why-

Just then, the Nevermore shuddered. It was still alive! It started to raise it's head. Nora immediately fixed that, by slamming it's head back down. Then, Sage and Yatsuhashi jumped over the Nevermore, spinning their blades down to cut it's head off. The Nevermore slowly disappeared. Griffin grimm griffons entered the arena, and the students prepared their weapons and the grimm flew around us.

Sun: What now?

Ruby: Can I use your scroll?

Sun quickly threw her his scroll. She pushed 2 buttons, and her locker immediately landed a few yards in front of her. How she did it, I have no idea. She went to go retrieve the Crescent Rose, when a griffon landed on the locker! She was ready to fight it with her bare hands, when suddenly, a loud gun went off, killing the griffon in one shot. When we turned around, Port and Oobleck were standing near the exit, each with their weapons. Port's was smoking.

Port: I would prefer it if you all would leave, thank you very much.

Ruby: But we can fi-

Oobleck: Ms. Rose. I can assure you that this day will go down in Remnant's history. I would prefer if my students lived to tell about it.

Ruby looked like she was about to protest again, so I stepped in.

Rocket: We can take an airship down to the city. Come on!

And with that, Ruby grabbed her scythe and we all ran towards the airship ports.

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POV: Omniscient

Professor Port and professor Oobleck were standing back to back in the middle of a swarm of griffons.

Port: One final match, ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!

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Weiss and Blake had been eating at the Simple Wok noodle stand when the grimm attacked. They were in the middle of the chaos, hiding behind the counter.

Weiss: How did this happen? Penny…

Suddenly, Blake got a call.

Blake: Hello?

Yang: Hey! Are you guys all right?

Yang had been moping in her room about the ban when the grimm had attacked. She was now running through the hallways of the dorms.

Blake: Yah we're fine.

Yang: Is Ruby with you? She isn't answering her scroll.

Blake: No, she's not…

That stopped Yang in her tracks. Blake heard the silence.

Blake: Look, Yang, she's probably fine. She's our leader, she can handle herself. After all, Rocket was with her!

Yang: Yah. Well, I'm heading to the courtyard. The white fang is releasing grimm into the city around there.

Blake: Wait, the white fang is here?!

Yang: Yah. Oh, I got to go…

Blake heard fighting sounds in the background, before Yang hung up.

Blake: Yang!

Weiss: What do we do now?

Blake stood up, and pushed a button on her scroll.

Blake: I don't know about you, but I'm going to the courtyard, and I'm going to do my job.

The locker landed a few feet away, and automatically opened, revealing the gambol shroud. Weiss said nothing. She just got out her scroll and bushed 1 button.

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Everyone was at the docks, getting on an airship. They could only get so many people off at a time. Ironwood was anxious. The white fang kept dropping grimm off up in the arena. Most of them, his soldiers could take care of. He needed to save his strength for-

 _Clank_

He slowly turned around. Behind him, was an alpha Beowulf. That's what happened to a grimm when it lived for long enough. It changed, became stronger. This grimm's hide was so strong, that it could take a bullet easily. Ironwood didn't even pull out a weapon. He just started walking towards it. The beowulf just looked at him, and began running. Ironwood began walking faster, until he was at a full sprint. The grimm jumped, about to tackle him. Ironwood reacted immediately, putting on a burst of speed that moved him under the grimm. Almost instantly, he had a pistol in his hand. While the grimm was above him, he slid and fired 3 times straight up, hitting it in the weak area around it's stomach. It definitely felt that one. As both of them slid to stop, Ironwood's hand broke the concrete it tried to grip onto. When he looked up, the grimm was about to hit him in the face. He quickly ducked the first swipe, and easily caught the grimm's other arm. Before it could react, he shot the ground underneath it, creating a large explosion that launched the grimm over Ironwood. Ironwood was still holding onto the grimm's arm, though and pulled the arm in just the right way that the grimm's head was right next to his. He quickly looked away, put his gun up under its head, and fired. It was an instant kill. As the dust cleared he saw a group of students run out of one of the tunnels that lead into the arena.


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

POV: Rocket

We ran up to Ironwood. He was one of the only ones in command at this point.

Ruby: What's going on?!

Ironwood sighed.

Ironwood: The white fang is releasing grimm into the city the defences are failing, and to make matters worse, some... vagabond has seized control of one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. That's why I'm going to take it back.

Jaune: So what should we do?

Ironwood thought for a second.

Ironwood: Well, it seems like you all have 2 choices ahead of you. You can either defend your kingdom and your school, or save yourselves. No one would fault you for running away. Let's move out!

That last command was to the pilot of the ship behind him. After all, he had a mission.

Rocket: I mean… There was really only one valid choice there, given our line of work.

Jaune: Come on, we can take a ship to Beacon!

And with that, we were off again.

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POV: Omniscient

The "vagabond" that Ironwood was talking about happened to be one Roman Torchwick and one Neo Politan. Roman was exploring his new property, when he saw a control panel.

Roman: Ooh! Flashing buttons! I wonder what they do… Let's try… This one!

He pushed a small button on the side. He heard an explosion somewhere behind him.

Roman: That one's fun. Now, let's try.. This one.

He pressed a big red button. Back in the cargo area, the back just opened, releasing more soldiers. Roman didn't hear anything.

Roman: Ok, nothing.

Neo walked up, and handed him a scroll with a familiar symbol on the screen.

Roman: Oh, but this one… this one is going to be fun.

He plugged in the scroll into a machine. Data downloaded for a second, but then all the screens in the room, which had been blue, turned red. He now had access to every soldier in the system that wasn't human.

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Glynda and Ozpin were on the ground, killing grimm, when suddenly, the soldiers they were fighting with, began to glow red instead of blue. That's when they turned around, and began to fire at humans. The fight was now against not grimm, but machine.

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Blake and Weiss were running over to a defensive line the courtyard. They came up behind it, while the soldiers were killing another grimm. Suddenly, the soldiers stopped firing. In unison, they all turned around, glowing red. They quickly surrounded Blake and Weiss, who were now standing back to back.

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Ironwood was sitting the plane, getting ready to arrive at the command ship. Then, he heard the soldiers behind him powering up. That was weird. They shouldn't be powering up until-

 _Ba-ba-bang!_

The soldiers had fired. The engine had exploded. The airship was going down.

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POV: Rocket

I saw the ship go down. That was a nasty explosion. What caused it, I have no idea. All I know is, I think Ruby has an idea. I figure that part out when she suddenly ran to the back, and jumped off!

Sun: Where are you going?!

I went to follow her.

Sun: Oh, not you too…

Rocket: Don't worry, I'm just going to make sure she doesn't kill herself with a bad idea-

I heard something behind me. I stopped time. I turned around.

Rocket: So that is what Ruby was doing.

Ruby was riding a locker behind me. I quickly analyzed the locker's thrusters, trajectory, and target, and discovered it would miss. I quickly got onto the locker, displacing my weight so that it wouldn't miss. Restarted time.

Ruby: Wah! Where did you come from?!

Rocket: Um… magic.

Ruby: Hey, that's my lin-

We hit the runway of the command ship. I'm pretty sure that's not how it was intended to be used, but whatever.

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POV: Omniscient

Roman was standing at the control panel, when he heard a thud from outside. He sighed.

Roman: Can you go see what that was?

Neo nodded and walked out.

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POV: Rocket

Ruby and I had just gotten off the locker, and were discussing our plans.

Ruby: So, what are we going to do now?

Rocket: Well, first we have to find whoever Ironwood was talking about, and then we have to figure out how they took over. Finally, we have to reverse whatever they used, and leave.

Ruby: So, I repeat, what are we going to do no-

 _Click_

I turned around, and-

 _Flash_

When my eyes recovered Neo was standing there, which a scroll in hand, presumably what she had used as a flashbang just now.

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All Roman got was a picture of Rocket and Ruby, and a sentence. "Guess Who".

Roman: Oh, COME ON!

He grabbed his cane, and ran towards the exit.


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

POV: Omniscient

Weiss and Blake were fight furiously, as they had to fight both soldiers and grimm at the same time. Weiss destroyed around 30 soldiers in a single dash, but left herself open to the white fang members that were surrounding her. Blake took care of that problem quickly. Then, they noticed 2 things. First was an Atlesian Paladin wrecking a building. Next, was an Alpha and some white fang members near the cafeteria. Weiss and Blake just nodded to each other.

Weiss: Stay safe.

They both dashed off to the different fights. Weiss went to fight the Atlesian paladin, while Blake went after the Alpha.

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Rocket and Ruby were facing off against Neo. Ruby went on the attack, and Rocket followed. Neo easily sidestepped Ruby's attack, and she finished off by kicking Rocket in the face. The force of the kick lapsed his consciousness and sent him flying over the side of the ship.

Ruby: Rocket!

She knew he had no way to catch himself. He was gone. She then turned to face the true enemy. Roman.

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All the students that had been on the airship were fighting in the courtyard. Grimm were everywhere, and they needed to be taken out. Team JNPR was pretty spread out, but they were still near each other. Then, Pyrrha saw Ozpin. He was just standing in the doorway to his tower. Pyrrha lowered her weapons and started walking towards him.

Jaune: Pyrrha! Where are you going?

She ignored him. She knew what Ozpin wanted her to do.

Jaune: Guys, just stay together and keep fighting. I'm going to figure out where Pyrrha's going.

Nora and Ren just nodded. Jaune ran after Ozpin and Pyrrha.

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Blake chased after the Alpha, but eventually, it jumped over the cafeteria, and she couldn't follow it. She was about to go back for Weiss, but then heard a sword being sheathed behind her. She turned around. In the building behind her was a man with red hair, a black jacket, and a red sword. His name, was Adam Taurus.

Adam: Hello, my darling.

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Back in courtyard, Weiss arrived. When she got there, a massive group of students were fighting the Paladin, and losing. Ren stumbled for a second, before recovering, just time to see the paladin about to punch him.

Nora: Ren!

Nora quickly ran forward, and pushed Ren out of the way. Instead of Ren getting annihilated, Nora was launched across the courtyard. Ren soon recovered, and promptly got punched seconds later. Weiss joined the attack, but got a kick to the face. She was about to get crushed by the Paladin's fist, when Yatsuhashi blocked it.

Yatsuhashi: Move!

Weiss snapped back to her senses, rolled to her feet, and ran. Yatsuhashi was overpowered quickly, and sent into the wall. Coco was still standing and firing a constant stream of bullets into the Paladin's face. Neptune soon joined her. Others noticed what they were doing, and soon they had a group of around 10 students firing a constant barrage into the Paladin's face.

Coco: Well, I guess now, a better time than any. Velvet!

Velvet: Really?

Coco: Just, make it count.

Velvet walked forward. Everyone back in the crowd stopped firing, since they now had a very real chance of hitting Velvet.

Weiss: What is she doing? She going to get killed!

Coco: Just… watch.

Velvet pushed 1 button on her camera. The Paladin seemed to notice her. It's arm began charging up. Right before it fired, Velvet jumped into the air. She suddenly had a scythe that looked oddly like the Crescent Rose, except Velvet's scythe looked more like a hologram. Velvet came down behind the Paladin, slicing it 3 times. Her scythe disappeared, and was immediately replaced by Myrtenaster. The paladin turned around, and tried to punch her. She quickly raised the sword above her head, and the Paladin's blow was deflected by a shield of sorts. She took a step back, and then rocketed forwards. She got three jabs off before the Paladin retargeted her. By the time it did that, Velvet already had the Ember Celica out, and she immediately punched it in the face. The Paladin recoiled. Velvet landed a decent distance away. She immediately started firing onto the robot. It recovered, but she had already switched again. Now she had the Gambol Shroud. She hooked the ribbon onto its legs, and then immediately started going around the robot, wrapping it in ribbon. Finally, she pulled it tight. The robot almost fell over, but managed to keep it's footing. The Gambol Shroud case hit it in the face and stuck. It quickly disappeared though, as Velvet had formed Coco's Minigun. The Paladin was now getting peppered with bullets. Somehow still working, the Paladin charged at her. She jumped over it, forming Penny's swords. When she landed, she quickly cut through the mech's legs, finally knocking it over. It was still functional though, and so Velvet had to finish it. She quickly went some distance away, before charging an ion beam. The Paladin started to pick up it's gun, but got completely disintegrated before it got a chance to fire. Velvet let the weapon disappear, and then heard stomping behind her. She turned around, and got a fist to the face. She was launched 20 feet across the courtyard before sliding to stop, unconscious.

Coco: Velvet!

Coco started firing on the next Paladin. This time, they didn't have Velvet. Even though Coco was shooting it, the mech started to advance on Velvet. Weiss realized how Velvet would die if she didn't do something. She quickly made glyphs all around the courtyard, and sprinted off, while she was running, she realized she couldn't really do anything to protect Velvet. While that realization dawned on her, a glyph appeared in the air behind her. She didn't notice. She just stopped in front of Velvet, who was just starting to wake up, and held her sword up as a guard. She knew that her sword wouldn't be able to block it. Immediately, she closed her eyes, and hoped. The fist never came. She looked up, and saw that there was a glowing white sword in front of her. She finally noticed the summoning glyph behind her. An arm was poking out of the glyph. The arm quickly moved, cutting the Paladin into 3 or 4 different pieces. She heard more stomping. A third paladin turned the corner. Weiss was too tired to protect herself. The glyph had disappeared. Everyone else was too far away to help her. She was a sitting duck.


	24. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

POV: Omniscient

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ozpin got off the elevator. They were now deep underground.

Jaune: Woah… where are we?

They were in a large green room, with a machine at the back. The machine had tubes going out from one pod to another. One pod was empty. The other pod had a girl in it. She was badly scarred.

Pyrrha: It's... a vault of sorts.

Jaune: Wait, you know about this?

Ozpin: No time for talking.

He opened the empty pod.

Ozpin: Pyrrha, it is time for you to make a decision.

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Weiss had looked Death in the face before and survived. She knew she wouldn't this time. The Paladin was only a couple of meters away now. She closed her eyes.

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POV: Rocket

I had seen the Paladin come around the corner I had been falling for 2 minutes, and was moving at approximately 180 MPH. That was when I hit the Paladin, shattering it on impact. That same impact also shattered my aura. Weiss slowly opened her eyes.

Weiss: Hu- OH MY GOSH!

Rocket: Ow…

Weiss: Where did you come from?!

Rocket: Long story short, I got kicked off the generals command ship. It flies at approximately 46250 feet.

Weiss: Next, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!

Rocket: I apparently got kicked out at just the right time, so that I landed just as that robot was about to attack. I just had to aim in its general direction.

Weiss: Wait, where's Ruby? Weren't you with her?

Rocket: I got kicked off, remember? I have to figure out how to get back up there...

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POV: Omniscient

Ruby was fighting, well, trying to fight Neo. Neo was just dodging a lot. Finally, Neo just disappeared, and Roman fired from behind where Neo was. Ruby got hit in the face, and rolled down the runway. When she rolled to a stop, she was dazed. Ruby looked up. Roman had walked up next to her.

Roman: Little red, little red… Where's your little friend now? I can tell you one thing, not here!

Ruby: What are you doing?! Without these ships, the grimm will destroy everything!

Roman: That's the plan!

He aimed his cane at her. She rolled out of the way, and right into Neo. She got hit a few time, before getting kicked and stumbling closer to the edge of the ship. She noticed that there was a swarm of griffons flying all around the ship. She spun back around.

Ruby: But why?! What do you get out of it?

Roman: You're asking all the wrong questions, Red! It's not about what I have to gain, it that I can't afford to lose!

Ruby charged. Roman ducked, and Neo jumped over him, kicking Ruby in the face. When Ruby turned back around, Neo was already coming back at her. Neo immediately went for an overhead strike, which Ruby blocked. What she forgot about, though, was the bottom of the umbrella, and the hook. Neo used the hook to rip the Crescent Rose out of Ruby's hands and sent it spinning, and eventually embedding itself right next to the edge of the ship. Ruby was also sent spinning, except upwards. Neo jumped and kicked, hitting Ruby in the middle of the stomach. She was sent flying right into one of Roman's flares, and back into Neo, who caught her, and threw her almost over the edge. Luckily for Ruby, the Crescent Rose was also at the edge of the ship, and she caught it. Now, she was hanging 50000 feet over the ground.

Roman: I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take.

Neo began walking forward. Her umbrella now had a spike jutting out of the end. She reached over the edge, and put the spike against Ruby's throat.

Roman: Like it or not, the people who hired me are going to change the world. You can't stop 'em. Heck, not even I could stop them now!

While Roman was busy monologuing, Ruby was trying to think. Then, she saw a button on Neo's umbrella.

Roman: You know the old saying. If you can't beat 'em…

Ruby quickly pulled herself upwards, and pushed the button on Neo's umbrella, opening it. It caught on the wind, pulling Neo off.

Roman: Neo!

Ruby was now back on the airship, but without her scythe.

Ruby: I don't care what you say. We will stop them, and I will stop you. BET ON THAT!

She used her speed to dodge back and forth, basically coming at him from every direction at once. He quickly fired in response, but instead of letting it go, he caught the flare with the other end of his cane, and threw it in an arch, right where Ruby dodged to next. He quickly followed up with an uppercut, with left her stomach exposed. He fired a point blank shot launching her across the deck. She rolled to a stop, curled up into a defensive ball. Roman began hitting her repeatedly with the round end of his cane.

Roman: You've got spirit Red, but this is the real world. The real world, is cold! The real world doesn't care about spirit!

After he said that, Ruby quickly kicked him in the shins, and had a chance to get back up.

Roman: You want to be a hero? Then play the part go DIE like all the other huntsmen in history!

He did one last quick swing, which knocked Ruby back.

Roman: And as for me, I'll do what I do best. Lie. Cheat. Steal, and surviv-

Suddenly a locker flew into him, and a dark silhouette jumped off the locker, just before impact. The locker ended up flying into the control room and exploding.


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

POV: Omniscient

Cinder, Mercury and Emerald were stand on top of a building, watching the mayhem they helped create.

Cinder: So much death… It's… Glorious. Focus on the knights.

Mercury: Don't worry, I'm getting all of it.

Emerald: It's almost sad… almost.

Cinder: Keep the broadcast going. You don't want to miss what happens next.

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All around the school, people who were fighting felt the ground shake beneath their feet. Over in mountain Glenn, the mountain cracked. After a few more shakes, pieces of the mountain began falling off, revealing a black, scaly core. After 2 more shakes, all was still. Then, a massive grimm, that resembled a dragon, burst out of Mountain Glenn! It went into the air, and began flying towards the school, straight at Beacon Tower.

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Blake was once more pushed back, almost stumbling to her knees.

Adam: This could have been our day!

Blake: I never wanted this! I wanted equality!

Adam: What you want is IMPOSSIBLE!

His sentence was punctuated with a slap, knocking Blake down again. This time, her sword was sent spinning out of her hands.

Adam: You know, I think I understand how you feel, Blake. Because all I wanted was you. But now, as I deliver the justice against humanity that it so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you hold dear...

?: Blaaaaaaake! Where are you?!

Adam looked up, to see Yang outside. He looked back down, and saw a terrified look on Blake's face. He knew she wasn't scared about what would happen to her. She never was. She was scared for that girl with the blonde hair.

Adam: ...starting with her.

Yang turned to the building next to her, as she heard a scream of pain, Blake's scream of pain. What she saw, was a strange man with a white fang mask and a glowing red sword, standing over Blake. Blood was dripping from his blade.

Yang: Get AWAY FROM HER!

Yang, without hesitation, jumped forward.

Blake: No…

Of course, no one could hear her over Yang's war cry. Then, in the blink of an eye, Yang fell to the ground, unconscious. Her arm was gone. Adam resheathed his blade, and then walked towards the now-unconscious Yang. He was ready to deal the finishing blow, when he was stopped by Blake. She kneeled over her injured friend, making it so that to kill Yang, he would first have to kill Blake.

Adam: Why must you hurt me like this, my love?

And then, in an instant, his sword darted out of its sheath. Blake's head was removed from her body. The clone faded almost instantly. Blake had disappeared with Yang.

POV: Rocket

I stood up, and spit out some blood.

Ruby: Rocket! How did you survive?!

Rocket: Aura is an amazing thing, even when hitting the ground at 180 MPH.

I turned around.

Rocket: We have to get to ground. The ship will go down any seco-

The ship shuddered, and started losing altitude. Ruby nodded, and was about to grab her scythe and jump off.

Rocket: Wait! I… don't have a way down, and I'm not free falling again. Yes, my aura is coming back, but I definitely don't have enough to jump off 45000 feet and survive again.

Ruby: Then hold on.

She then dragged me off the ship, and pulled me onto her scythe. She started firing, which slowed our fall.

Rocket: Aim for the water!

We hit the water. We weren't quit going fast enough to hurt us, but it was still a shock.

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POV: Omniscient

In a different area of the city, Glynda and Qrow were fighting off grimm. They had a small time of respite, when they noticed Cardin battling one grimm. He finally defeated it. He seemed only then notice robots surrounding him. He lifted his hands in surrender, but the robots didn't care. Suddenly, he heard gun go off behind him, waited for the excruciating pain of a bullet wound. It didn't come. When he opened his eyes, all of the robots were destroyed. In the cloud of dust, stood Ironwood, except only kindof. Some of his skin had been torn away, leaving a metal cyborg body. The skin was still on his head and one of his arms. Ironwood walked over to Glynda and Qrow, leaving Cardin stunned.

Ironwood: Ok, we need to-

Qrow just looked angrily at him, and changed his sword into scythe form.

Ironwood: Qrow! I didn't cause this!

Qrow at already started running at him. The general just got his gun ready, trying to figure out how he would stop Qrow. But then, Qrow jumped, while still keeping his vision locked straight forward, now over Ironwood's head. Ironwood turned around, and found out that a griffon was about to attack him. Qrow quickly cut the griffon in half, landing behind Ironwood.

Qrow: I know you didn't do this, Jimmy. The question, is what are you going to do about it?

Ironwood: First, we need to establish a perimeter. I'll leave that to you, Glynda. Meanwhile, Qrow, I want you to find people who need to be rescued.

Qrow: What will you be doing?

Ironwood: I still need to get to my ship…

There was a single explosion behind him. He turned around to see his ship crashing to the ground. Everything went silent. Then his ship completely exploded.

Qrow: Well, it won't be much of a walk.

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POV: Rocket

We limped to the new evac-point. Weiss was there when we got there.

Weiss: You guys are ok! I saw the ship go down, and I didn't know where you two went. What happened up there?

Ruby: That's a long story. Is everything ok down here?

Weiss: Um…

I looked behind Weiss, and almost threw up.

Ruby: Weiss, what's wro-

She also saw Yang and Blake. Blake had a massive wound in her stomach, while Yang… well… her arm was kind of missing.

Ruby: ...What happened?

Sun suddenly walked up behind us.

Sun: We have a ship ready to get all of you of here. As soon as we make it to a safe zone, we can treat Yang and Blake.

Nora: But what about Jaune and Pyrrha?

Ren: Their still missing!

Sun: That huge grimm is still circling the tower. Even the white fang are pulling out!

Ren: We… aren't… leaving!

He tried to stand up, but fell back down after pain flared up in his side. Ruby and I glanced at each other.

Ruby: I'll find them, and bring them back.

Rocket: No.

She looked up at me.

Rocket: You won't do it alone. Now that Blake and Yang are safe and protected, more of us can go looking for them.

Weiss: Then I might as well go too. You two might need someone with any sort of rational thinking.

As we walked away, Sun just had to call after us.

Sun: You'd better be back!


	26. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

POV: Rocket

We were walking over to the tower, which according to Ren and Nora, is the last place they were seen. My scroll rang.

Rocket: Hey it's Jaune!

I answered immediately.

Rocket: Jaune, where are you?

Jaune: Rocket! You have to help her…

Rocket: Who?

Jaune: Pyrrha! She went after that woman, at the top of the tower. She doesn't stand a chance!

Rocket: Ok. Are you safe?

Jaune: Don't mind me, I'm fine. You have to save Pyrrha!

Weiss: Ok, we will. Where are you?

Jaune seemed to just break down. We heard one last cry of anguish, before his scroll broke off.

Weiss: Jaune? Jaune!

Rocket: He's gone. He said he was safe, but we should hurry. Pyrrha will need us as fast as possible.

Ruby: What's that grimm doing?

The grimm she was talking about, appeared to be a dragon. It was dripping this black goo, somehow creating grimm. It was about to get a heck of a lot more crowded.

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POV: Omniscient

Cinder was standing at the top of the tower, in Ozpin's offices. The dragon grimm a landed on the tower, and was peeking through the tower window. It roared.

Cinder: Shhh… This is your home now.

Suddenly she heard the elevator ding behind her. She turned around, surprised. The doors slammed open, and Pyrrha's sword flew out. Cinder just stepped to the side, but she couldn't simply dodge Pyrrha, as she came out next, shield first, and crashed into Cinder. Cinder pushed her back, sending the shield flying. Pyrrha quickly rearmed herself before Cinder could react, and got ready to defend herself. Time seemed to slow in Pyrrha's mind as she tensed her muscles, ready now for anything Cinder might do. Cinder slashed with fire, with Pyrrha easily jumping out of the way, and came face to face with a beam of fire, which she rolled under. Cinder fired another beam, which Pyrrha took on her shield. She jumped forward, through the beam, and slashed underhand and Cinder, while still midair. Cinder easily caught her sword, and put her other hand to Pyrrha's stomach, and fire yet another beam, this time point blank. Pyrrha hit the wall, leaving a crack in solid cement. She got up, just in time to face Cinder, who was using her fire to propel herself towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha waited until Cinder was almost upon her, and then put Cinder in a chokehold, while she was still flying Pyrrha then jumped, and used the wall behind her to flip over Cinder with her neck still in that chokehold. The result was Cinder being judo-thrown across the room, giving Pyrrha some room to work. Pyrrha quickly rearmed herself, and closed the distance. They began to fight hand to sword. What Cinder didn't think about, was that Pyrrha could fly, by lifting her own armor off the ground. Pyrrha threw her sword and shield and Cinder as a distraction, before tackling her, into an explosion, courtesy of Cinder. When the smoke cleared, Pyrrha had one arm around Cinder's neck, and was slowly forcing her sword closer. Before she could kill Cinder, though, she noticed the dragon outside. It was flying directly at the tower! While she was watching the dragon, Cinder quickly heated up Pyrrha's sword, causing it to weaken. Right before the dragon hit, Cinder snapped Pyrrha's sword into 3. Not having any resistance on one of her arms, Pyrrha stumbled, giving Cinder a chance to blast her across the room once more. This time, however, they were no longer in a room, more of the top of the tower, in the open air. The dragon had completely destroyed the tower above them! The only evidence left that there used to be a tower above them, was gears scattered around them, from the clock above Ozpin's office. Pyrrha was slumped against the last part of the wall that wasn't destroyed. She saw her shield, laying in front of her. She also saw several large pieces of metal. She began crawling to her shield, when Cinder floated up from the hole in the middle of the tower. Apparently the glass had shattered, and she had hidden there while the dragon did it's worst. Pyrrha quickly used her magnetic powers to launch one of the pieces of metal into Cinder, while also pulling her shield to herself. Ciner launch the piece off, and off the tower. The real final battle was about to begin.

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POV: Rocket

We had seen the tower get destroyed. The dragon had just, flow into it, for seemingly no reason. We were at the base of the tower now, looking for a way up.

Rocket: There has to be a way up… The elevator isn't functional… The stairs are probably destroyed… What will we do…

Ruby: I have an idea! We can use the outside!

Rocket: How?

Ruby: Only one of us can do it this time, since it's a longer run. I'll have to go as the only one who can keep up the speed the entire time.

Rocket: Are you sure about this?

Ruby: Yes. Don't worry! Pyrrha's up there, fighting right now! With our forces combined, that lady won't stand a chance.

Rocket: Just… be careful.

Weiss got the glyphs ready. She was worn out, but she still had quite a bit of aura left somehow.

Weiss: You got this.

And with that, Ruby ran up the side of the tower. I don't know if she would make it in time, but I prayed that she would.


	27. Chapter 25

POV: Omniscient

Pyrrha and Cinder got back to their usual dance, with Cinder firing beams of fire, and Pyrrha either dodging or blocking them. After a particularly bad beam, Pyrrha was swallowed in flames. Cinder smiled, thinking she had won. She floated a bit closer, when suddenly, Pyrrha's shield parted the fire, and flew on a path straight at Cinder. Cinder blocked it easily, but then heard a metallic clank behind her. She turned around, to see all the gears that had previously been laying around the arena floating around her. The flames finally cleared to reveal Pyrrha holding all of them in place. She went on the attack, first launching her shield under Cinder's feet, rotating her to her back, before one gear slammed down vertically, pinning her to the ground. Finally, Pyrrha pushed all of the gears to directly on top of Cinder, crushing her. The was a moment of silence and Pyrrha stood at the top of the tower, victoriou-

 _Bang_

Suddenly all of the gears were sent flying, by and explosion. One of the gears hit Pyrrha, once more launching her into that wall. This time, however, her aura broke. Cinder casually formed her bow, and 1 arrow. Pyrrha ran forward, surprisingly nimbly for someone who had just been beaten to heck, and threw her shield. Cinder fired. The arrow and shield were in collision course. Right before the arrow would have hit the shield, it shattered, keeping its momentum. The shards went around the shield, before reforming on the other side, and hitting Pyrrha in the ankle. Pyrrha screamed in agony, and slowly broke the arrow. Even after removing the arrow, Pyrrha still couldn't get up. Cinder walk over, and lifted Pyrrha's chin so their eyes met.

Cinder: It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours, but take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you couldn't possibly imagine.

Pyrrha leaned back, still on her hands and knees, but now supporting herself.

Pyrrha: Do you… believe… in destiny?

Cinder: Yes.

Cinder slowly stood up. She took two steps back, and formed another arrow. She drew back her bow.

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Ruby topped the tower, just in time to look up, and see the arrow sticking out of Pyrrha's chest. Cinder walked over, and held Pyrrha's crown as she disintegrated. Ruby just watched, in shock as she watched the second death of one of her friends that day.

Ruby: PYRRHA!

A blinding silver light came out of Ruby's eyes in the form of fire. A massive flash filled Cinders vision, and all she felt was pain.

Cinder: WHAT!?

The dragon grimm, which had just gotten to the top of the tower, roared one last time. Ruby blacked out.

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POV: Rocket

Weiss: What as THAT?!

Rocket: That, appeared to be an explosion.

Weiss: So, what are we going to do about it.

Rocket: I'm trying to think…

We had been standing at the base of the tower for what felt like an eternity. We had just seen a silvery explosion.

Rocket: I have an idea! Once I go up, call Qrow. For now, can you make a time dilation glyph?

Weiss: Easily.

She concentrated for a second, then summoned a golden glyph, that looked like a clock. The instant I stepped in it, I felt invigorated.

Rocket: Thanks.

And then I was gone. I stepped further through time frames than I had ever gone before, so time was halted completely, thanks to my extreme time manipulation, and Weiss' time dilation glyph. Normally, when I stop time, I just walk places, since time is moving so slowly that it doesn't matter anyways. This time, I sprinted.

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POV: Omniscient

Cinder was hurting all over, but she was alive. She was standing, although shakily, at the top of the tower. She saw the little girl that had just done this to her in front of her. She was overcome with rage. That little girl, the one with the silver eyes, had thought she could beat her?! Cinder?! Cinder tried to summon a beam of fire that would kill the little girl, but she couldn't use her power.

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POV: Rocket

I ran up the entire tower in, to the outside world, milliseconds. Near the top, I was moving so fast, I had flames moving all around me. I was about to reach the top, when a special power came over me. I suddenly felt rejuvenated. I had the energy to slow my mind down, so I could do this perfectly. I was moving at thousands of MPH, but in my mind, I felt like I was moving at around an inch per second. When I reached the top, I swung myself over, fist out. I felt my aura fade, and the time dilation glyph began to wear off. I kept my speed though, and that's all that mattered. This woman in a red dress was standing over Ruby, who was unconscious. I closed my eyes moments before my fist would make impact. I felt pain like I've never felt before in my right arm, as my vision flashes orange, then white, and finally faded to black.

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POV: Cinder

When I woke up, I was falling. It took me a few seconds to realise that small fact, but once I realised it, it was a quick fix. This attack wasn't a complete failure, but I felt like one. I flew off, not wanting to face my Queen, but knowing I have to. My powers were weak, but I was able to keep in the air through sheer determination. I would get my revenge.


	28. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

POV: Rocket

I woke up in a house I had never seen before. In the bed next to me, Ruby was still out. I noticed that I had a cast on my right arm. The last thing I remembered was pain. The room was small, with barely enough room for the two beds. There was also a chair with a young blond man sleeping in it. It looked like he was sleeping pretty lightly, so I was silent as I looked around. Ruby wasn't as she woke up.

Ruby: *YAAWWWN*

The man was instantly awake.

?: Ruby! You're awake! Thank goodness.

Ruby: What happened?

?: I was almost hoping to ask you two the same thing. Qrow found you both unconscious at the top of the tower. He got you out there, and brought you here.

Rocket: And where exactly is "here"?

He seemed to notice for the first time that I was awake.

?: Oh, sorry. We didn't know where you lived, so we brought you to our home. Welcome to Patch. I'm Ruby's dad, you can call me Tai.

Ruby: Wait, Yang! Is she ok?

Tai: She… she's going to be ok, it just going to take some time. You know, for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let something like this stop her. I'm just glad to have my girl's back home.

Rocket: So, what happened with the school while we were out? Were they able to clear out the grimm?

Tai: Things in Vale are under control. But the school? Things just aren't that simple. That giant grimm… doesn't appear to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it, but it isn't disappearing.

Rocket: Isn't it frozen in stone?

Tai: Wait… how did you know that?

Rocket: I was at the top of the tower too. I made it up after that thing got frozen.

Tai: Anyways, I know that doesn't sound bad, but it keeps attracting more grimm to the school.

Ruby was silent for a second. She seemed to be processing what he had said.

Ruby: Wait, I did what?

Tai: Hm?

Ruby: You said I did a number on it. What did you mean?

Rocket: Whatever we did, it appears to have cause memory loss. I've been trying to sort through what I did…

Tai: I… We can talk about it later. Things are just… kind of a mess right now.

Qrow: Things are always a mess, it's just people are starting to notice now. Mind if we have a minute?

Tai: What, I can't stay here?

Qrow: Tai, please.

Tai kissed Ruby on the forehead and walked out, scowling at Qrow almost the whole time. Once Tai was out of the room, Qrow pulled up a chair in front of Ruby's bed.

Qrow: So, how are you two feeling?

Ruby: I kind of hurt all over.

Rocket: And… you know… broken arm.

Qrow: More like a shattered arm. Neither of those are surprising after what you two did.

Rocket: How bad was the break?

Qrow: You're arm was broken in 10 different places. It should recover fully, though. They were able to reset it while you were asleep.

Ruby: Wat id we do? Everyone keeps saying that I did something! What are you talking about?!

Qrow sighed. He knew he would have to jog our memory.

Qrow: What's the last thing you remember?

Rocket: Let's start with Ruby, since what she remembers would have happened before anything I saw.

Ruby: Let's see… I climbed the tower, and… when I got to the top...

She gasped.

Ruby: Pyrrha! Is she…

Qrow: She was already long gone when we got up there.

Ruby started choking as she finished the story.

Ruby: I got to the the top of the tower, and saw Pyrrha… and that woman!

Qrow: We now know her name to be Cinder.

Ruby: Then, my vision went white and I lot of pain, mostly coming from my eyes.

Qrow: Ok. So, what did you see, Rocket?


	29. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

POV: Rocket

Rocket: Weiss and I saw a silver explosion at the top of the tower. We decided that I would have to go up. After all, Weiss didn't have an actual way up. She cast a time dilation glyph, and I used my semblance after stepping on it, making time slow down further than I had ever felt it slow down before. Since acceleration due to gravity was the same, in seconds, I didn't even take a millisecond to climb the tower. When I reached the top, I was covered in fire, but I felt no burns. It turned silver right before impact with Cinder. When I got there she was standing over Ruby, who was already unconscious. I punched her, and my vision when orange, white, then black.

Ruby: Dangit, now I owe you 3!

Qrow: Why didn't your aura protect you?

Rocket: Around 1 hour earlier I had fallen of a ship cruising at 45000 feet.

Qrow: Oh… Well anyways, do either of you know how you actually were able to damage her?

Ruby: I have no idea if I even did anything, but maybe it was because Rocket punched her at mach 1 billion

Qrow: Well, I can tell you one thing. With her power, it should have done nothing. What was the first thing Ozpin said to you when you first met him?

Ruby: Something about…

Qrow: Silver eyes, right? That's an incredibly rare trait.

Ruby: So? It's just an eye color.

Qrow: You're special, Ruby. In the same way that your mother was special. Same with you, Rocket.

Rocket: Wait, but my eyes aren't… silver…

I realized that the grey flecks in my eyes were in fact not gray, but silver.

Rocket: But, how do flecks count as having silver eyes?

Qrow: Basically, when two silver eyes parents have a child, it will always produce a silver eyed child. If one parent has silver eyes, and the other doesn't, it will produce a silver eyed child, as long as 1 generation had two silver eyed parent within around 10 generations. If they didn't and that is the 11th generation, then it will produce silver flecks. It has less power than someone with full silver eyes, but it is more controllable. Flecks still count as silver eyes in the above combinations. If someone with flecks has a child with someone without silver eyes, the silver eyed trait will go away.

Rocket: But why did all of this help us hurt Cinder?

Qrow: Silver eyed warriors were said to be the best of the best. It's also said that even a look could kill a grim. It's a ridiculous story. But anyways, nobody is quite sure what the full powers of a silver eyed warrior are. People with the powers Cinder had could be affected by the silver-eyed powers worse than most people.

Ruby: So, what do we do now?

Qrow: Ozpin has gone missing, and it's up to me to pick up where he left off.

Ruby: When do we leave?

Qrow: I'll be going alone. You two still need to recover, and the enemy's trail goes all the way to Mistral. That's a little far for two pipsqueeks like you. Well, I have to go now. I'll see you around.

And with that, he walked out.

Rocket: So, what do we do now?

Ruby: First, we should probably get up and walk around.

Rocket: Yah, sometimes beds are just too comfortable.

Ruby: Agreed…

We both groaned as we stood up. After walking around the room for a second, my legs finally decided they wanted to be legs again, and not hands.

Ruby: So, what are you going to do?

Rocket: I have no idea. I don't have a home or parents to return to…

Ruby: You could stay with us!

Rocket: I'll have to work out details with your dad, but I guess that's my only option.

We thought for a second. This was going to be an interesting few weeks, with the Xiao Long's basically adopting me-

Ruby: Yang?

Ruby had walked into the hallway, and opened Yang's door while I had been thinking. I quickly followed her. Yang was silent, so Ruby was about to shut the door.

Yang: Ruby.

Ruby: I'm so glad your ok!

Yang: But… I'm not.

Ruby: At least you're alive. So, what happened with everyone else?

Yang: Weiss' father came for her. He thinks it's too dangerous here for her.

Ruby: And what about Blake?

Yang: And Blake ran! After everything, she just ran away! She stayed for a week, made sure everyone was being taken care of, and then she just ran!

Ruby: There has to be a reaso-

Yang: No there doesn't. Sometimes, bad things just… happen, Ruby.

That took the wind out of Ruby's sails. She was silent for a bit.

Yang: Just… leave me alone. I need to think over everything.

Ruby walked over to the door.

Ruby: I love you.

Yang didn't reply. Ruby simply shut the door and walked back out.

Rocket: Well, that was pleasant.

Ruby said nothing. Her mood seemed more somber than usual. I went ahead and left to the kitchen, and worked everything out with Tai. I had 3 months until I got my cast off, and even then I had a couple weeks until I would be back up to my full potential. Until then I worked on my left arm, since I had significantly less coordination with that arm than I did with my right arm. These next 3 month would be packed with practice, but I was ready.


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue

POV: Rocket

It was the middle of winter, and I was finally fully recovered. I picked up my backpack and walked outside.

Ruby: You ready?

Rocket: Mistral's a long way…

Ren: The road will be hard...

Jaune: We'll face challenges…

Nora: But we wouldn't be here if we weren't ready.

And with that, we started walking East. Before we could make it to Mistral, we would have to cross Vale and Anima. Vale would be easy enough. Most of the terrain would be what we've seen before. Anima would be the real challenge.


End file.
